A Journey of Majestic Valor
by Alatum Laminis
Summary: Team Valor, led by Infernape are sworn to protect Team Majesta, led by Princess Lopunny. But when Team Valor is beaten and Team Majesta is kidnapped, will Team Valor be strong enough to save them?
1. Team Valor Arc: Prologue

**OK, I know I said I wouldn't start this story until my Underland Chronicles story has been completed, but it was just dying to be written. It's probably going to be a bit longer than my other stories, so enjoy!**

"Flamethrower!" Chimchar commanded. He shot out a huge burst of flames from his mouth. It was powerful enough to completely incinerate his target to bits.

"Shock Wave!" his friend Shinx called next to him. The electric attack was just as powerful as Flamethrower, and like Chimchar, Shinx quickly fried his target.

"Air Cutter!" Starly, the third member of their team, Team Valor, said. While not as powerful as the other two, Starly could launch a far higher amount of Air Cutters as Chimchar could launch Flamethrowers or Shinx could for Shock Waves. Therefore, he was able to cut his target to pieces.

"Focus Blast!" Machop, the fourth member called. His attack was the most powerful out of the ones launched, and although his ability to launch special attacks like Focus Blast was weak, it was still powerful enough to break his target.

"Sludge Bomb!" Skorupi, the fifth member commanded. His tail snapped forward and rapidly fired a string of poisonous balls that quickly melted a target into a puddle.

"Ice Beam!" Snover, the final member of Team Valor said. A thin stream of ice hit his target and froze it less than a second.

"That was excellent!" their mentor, Gallade, applauded. Gallade was one of King Lucario's old friends, and as such, was the captain of the royal guards.

"Thank you, master!" Chimchar said, bowing.

"We try our best! Protecting the land of Laxos was our fathers' duty, and it is passed down to us!" Shinx added.

"Just like your fathers…" Gallade sighed. This was not surprising. Gallade and King Lucario knew all of the entire groups' fathers: Inferanpe, Luxray, Staraptor, Machamp, Drapion, and Abomasnow. All six of them were brave and proud soldiers of Laxos, and Gallade and Lucario fought with them. Unfortunately, right after Team Valor was born, Laxos was attacked by the neighboring kingdom, and all six of their families perished. Team Valor was made up of the only remnants of their families.

"We only have vague memories of them, master, but we know enough to know that they were great soldiers." Starly said.

"Team Majesta is in the same situation as we are, though." Skorupi said.

"Yes. Those girls had their families lost as well, except for Princess Buneary." Gallade said sadly.

Team Majesta were a group of girls that made up the only junior team in the entire palace that could match Team Valor. They had Princess Buneary as the leader, but she certainly wasn't a calm girl! She was cute, but had a hot temper! The next one was Vulpix, who was usually the only one who could calm Buneary down. The third member was Tailow, who was normally quiet and reserved, but could fight very well. The fourth member was Meditite, who could match Machop blow for blow. The fifth member was Kricketot, who was skilled at fighting, but normally preferred to calm everyone down with her soothing voice. Finally, there was Budew, the smallest of the group, but could pack a powerful punch if necessary. Their master was Gallade's wife, Gardevoir.

"We haven't seen them in a while. I wonder how they're doing." Machop thought out loud.

"Gardevoir says they're coming along nicely." Gallade answered.

"Really? Can we go spar with them? Please, master?" Snover begged.

"Of course you can." A new voice said behind them. Team Valor turned their heads to see King Lucario coming towards them.

"O-oh! Your majesty!" Team Valor greeted, bowing.

"Hello, my friend." Gallade said, saluting.

"Gallade, Queen Lopunny has decided to see Team Valor and Team Majesta spar. I'll be looking forward to it as well." King Lucario said.

"If that's the case, then so be it. It will be a good way to really see how they have progressed." Gallade said.

"The meeting spot will be in the field, forty minutes from now." King Lucario said. Gallade nodded.

"Master, what did he mean?" Shinx asked.

"You'll find out." was all Gallade said. Then he quickly told them to follow him, and ran off. Team Valor was fast enough to keep pace with him, though.

_Later…_

"Wow!" Chimchar said, amazed. He looked around. They were in a field that seemed to stretch a very far distance around. It was completely clear-no trees or anything. Sunlight was everywhere, and there was a breeze.

"What is this, master?" Machop asked, still in awe.

"Your fathers, as well as Lucario and I loved to play here. When we grew up, we always took our significant others here on our first dates. It is a place where all our fondest childhood memories were stored." Gallade explained.

"Gallade!" a female voice called. It was Gardevoir. She was leading Team Majesta towards them.

"Hey!" Buneary called.

"It's been too long!" Chimchar said.

"How have you been doing?" Snover asked.

"Fine! This time though, we're going to kick your butts!" Meditite replied.

"You wanna bet?" Machop said, shaking a fist playfully at them.

"Bring it on!" Vulpix challenged, crouching slightly.

"With pleasure! Thunderbolt!" Shinx called. He launched an electric bolt at Team Majesta, which they dodged.

"Nice try! Fire Blast!" Vulpix countered, striking with a flaming ring. Team Valor dodged it.

"Hold it! We have to ask permission to start!" Skorupi said, looking towards Gallade and Gardevoir. They merely nodded and sat down with King Lucario and Queen Lopunny, who had just showed up.

"OK! Bite!" Skorupi said, using his speed to get through the defenses and bite down on Kricketot. She screeched and countered with Bide, which knocked away Skorupi.

"Let's do this!" Starly yelled and flew towards them, along with the others. Team Majesta quickly retaliated against the assault.

Chimchar and Buneary were fighting in one part of the field. They were both fast and strong, but Buneary was slightly faster, and used her Jump Kick to get the better of Chimchar. However, his Dig had its benefits as well, and both Pokemon were suffering some bruises.

Shinx and Vulpix were equally matched. Although Vulpix was quicker, Shinx used his bulk to bring her down. Their fire and electricity normally resulted in stalemates. In other words, like their leaders, neither of them were making any headway against each other.

Starly and Tailow were in a sparring match of their own. Starly had clear advantage from having higher defense, but Tailow was a lot faster, and althought Starly could injure her easily, it was very often that Tailow could duck under his guard and cause damage.

Machop and Meditite, like always, were locked in close combat. They would punch each other one moment and both get new bruises the next.

Skorupi and Kricketot were using Bite and Bug Bite to injure each other. Skorupi was fast enough to dodge Bide, having learned his lesson, but Kricketot's Bug Bite was more subtle, and far quicker than Bide. Both of them were really getting annoyed at each other.

Snover and Budew was the only match-up that had a clear advantage. Snover used his Ice-type nature to easily cause damage to Budew. There was a slight problem, though. Snover was hit by Budew's Poison Point ability, and the poison was slowing him down. Budew was hurt, but the poison caused quite some damage to Snover.

All twelve Pokemon had no idea of the eyes watching them. As soon their owner was satisfied with their weakness, it burst out of the grass, roaring.

"What the?" Snover said.

"I AM ARMALDO! THIS IS MY TERRITORY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" it roared.

"Nothing! We didn't even know it was your territory!" Kricketot argued.

"LIES! PREPARE YOURSELVES!" Armaldo shouted.

"I guess we have no choice…" Tailow sighed.

"We outnumber it twelve to one! We'll be fine!" Chimchar encouraged them.

_Later…_

Chimchar was wrong. Both teams were currently lying on the ground, badly hurt. Armaldo, on the other hand, was still standing.

"YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR ME! NOW PREPARE TO DIE!" Armaldo said.

"No…we won't give up!" Buneary said, struggling to her feet. All around her, the others were also trying to get up, repeating the same phrase.

"We won't give up….we won't give up…" they murmured.

"So be it. DIE!" Armaldo said, launching Ancientpower at Buneary, who was swaying.

"PRINCESS BUNEARY!" Chimchar cried. All of a sudden, the flame on his tail separated into a star and fire enveloped his body. He rushed over, picked up Buneary and carried her away from Ancientpower, putting her down next to Shinx.

"T-thanks, Chimchar." Buneary said. Chimchar nodded.

Everyone, combine your moves on Armaldo!" Meditite said.

"Jump Kick!"

"Spark!"

"Quick Attack!"

"Aerial Ace!"

"Wing Attack!"

"Karate Chop!"

"Ice Punch!"

"Bite!"

"Bug Bite!"

"Rock Smash!"

"Razor Leaf!"

The combined moves quickly knocked Armaldo down. However, the two teams had one surprise left.

Chimchar had his Blaze ability in full effect. He knew what it was now, and was ready to use it.

"FLAME WHEEL!" he shouted. He rolled towards Armaldo in a powerful ball of lames, and when it made contact, the resulting explosion knocked the Pokemon off their feet.

"Chimchar!" Buneary screamed. Luckily, he came out, but was promptly slapped silly by Buneary.

"Don't do that AGAIN!" she commanded.

"Yes, ma'am." he replied. Team Valor stifled snickers at their great leader.

_Back at the palace…_

"What? Mom, dad, that was set up by YOU?" Buneary asked. She, Team Majesta, and Team Valor were in the throne room with King Lucario, Queen Lopunny, Gallade, and Gardevoir.

"Yes. Armaldo is one of our old rivals. He lives in the field we took you to today." King Lucario said.

"We wanted to see exactly how much you have progressed, so we took you to Armaldo to battle." Gallade explained.

"Master, we could have been _killed._" Skorupi complained.

"Armaldo wouldn't have killed you. He doesn't kill his friends' children. It was a fake battle." Queen Lopunny said.

"So that's why you didn't help us." Vulpix realized.

"Yes. It was a test to see what you would have done in a tense situation. And you have all passed. Congratulations." Gardevoir said.

"You are now all dismissed." King Lucario said. Everyone nodded and walked out of the room.

As Chimchar was about to leave, Gallade called him back. He turned around and walked back towards them.

"Chimchar. Do not worry, you are not in trouble." King Lucario said.

"What is then, Your Majesties?" Chimchar asked nervously.

"We have a job for you. It will involve our daughter, and you." Queen Lopunny said.

"Really? What about Princess Buneary and me?" Chimchar asked, surprised.

"I saw how you protected her from Ancientpower. Due to that, I would like to ask a favor of you." Queen Lopunny said. "I want you to do all you can to protect Buneary in the future. She is strong, but she still needs protection from someone who is close to her."

Chimchar was shocked. "You're asking me? Why not Team Majesta?" he asked.

"Because they also need protection. As they are closer to Buneary than many others, they may be targeted by our family's enemies as well. Tell your team to help you. Team Valor must protect Team Majesta as well as they can. Or else…" King Lucario trailed off.

"I understand, Your Majesty." Chimchar said, bowing. "And yes, I swear on my father's soul that I will protect Princess Buneary!"

"Thank you, Chimchar. You may go." King Lucario said. Chimchar ran back to Team Valor's wing in the palace. Once there, he spread the news to everyone else. Like him, they readily swore on their fathers' souls to protect Team Majesta.

Unbeknownst to them, a dark figure was watching from the shadows.

"This could hinder my plans…" it hissed. Then it vanished.

**I know this seems like the story, but it is only the prologue. Next time, we will really get this story going.**

**Oh, and if you were confused about who used what, here's the laydown: Jump Kick was Buneary, Spark was Shinx, Quick Attack was Vulpix, Aerial Ace was Starly, Wing Attack was Tailow, Karate Chop was Machop, Ice Punch was Meditite, Bite was Skorupi, Bug Bite was Kricketot, Rock Smash was Snover, Razor Leaf was Budew, and Flame Wheel was Chimchar. **

**Hope you enjoyed, and please review. **


	2. Team Valor Arc: A Few Years Later

**Here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and all of Team Valor's and Team Majesta's members are fully evolved, since this is set several years after the prologue. If you want to have an idea of how old they are, let's just say that they're around 20 years old (in other words, they're old enough to MATE!)**

"Close Combat into Flare Blitz!" Infernape yelled. He started practicing the same combination he had been trying for over a week. His goal was to use Close Combat, but instead of ending with a regular punch or tail whack, he wanted to end with a Flare Blitz. Unfortunately, most of the time he couldn't get enough distance with the second-to-last move, and he couldn't charge up Flare Blitz in time before hitting the ground. In fact, out of all the times he tried, he only got ten percent of them successful.

"Thunder Armor!" Luxray cried out a few yards away. He was trying to use a technique he had read about in the palace library. Apparently, the most powerful Electric-Type Pokemon could use a technique that involved shocking themselves, but then they absorbed the electricity to coat themselves in solidified lightning. It enhanced speed, power and defense capabilities, and could defeat even the toughest opponents. However, the move had a limit, and Luxray's record was three minutes at best, while the masters of this technique could keep it on for at least half an hour.

BOOM! An explosion of dust was the result of Staraptor's training. He was trying to perfect a combo that involved using the move Fly to swoop upwards, and then loop into Aerial Ace to increase the speed of the attack. Finally, after the loop, he dive-bombed back down into Brave Bird to create a huge missile. The natural gravity, plus the speed of Aerial Ace and the extra power from Brave Bird would cause a resulting explosion upon contact with anything solid. However, Staraptor usually hurt himself due to the recoil effect of Brave Bird, and that effect was only aggravated by the resulting explosion. In other words, by using this technique, Staraptor's true goal was to boost his endurance.

Farther away from the other three, Machamp, Drapion, and Abomasnow were locked in a two-on-one battle. Machamp, using Dynamic Punch in one hand, Revenge in the second, Karate Chop in the third, and a built-up Focus Blast in the last, could fight the other two with ease under normal circumstances. These, however, were not normal circumstances, because Drapion and Abomasnow had boosted their punches as well.

Drapion had the power of Cross Poison in one claw and the power of X-Scissor in the other. As if that wasn't enough, he also had Poison Jab ready on his tail. As if _that _wasn't enough, he also built up Sludge Bomb to boost his tail up to such high levels that he could cause a deadly wound with just one sting.

Abomasnow, on the other hand, merely turned his hands into Wood Hammers and froze them up with Ice Beam for good measure. It was a simple combo, but he could actually fight on par with the others, who were a lot faster than he was. In other words, Machamp had his work cut out for him.

Infernape clapped his hands together to call everyone. "Alright, Team Valor! Break time!" he commanded. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered in a part of the field to eat a delicious lunch consisting of apples and other fruits. This was the same field in which they had fought Armaldo so many years ago, but since Armaldo had perished some time ago, Team Valor and Team Majesta were the only ones besides King Lucario, Queen Lopunny, Gallade, and Gardevoir to know about this secret field.

"I think that you three," Drapion started, gesturing at Infernape, Luxray, and Staraptor, "really need to work on your combinations."

"I know." Infernape said. "But we have to keep working, in order to protect Team Majesta a bit more."

"Are you SURE it's Team Majesta you want to protect?" Luxray asked Infernape with a sly grin.

"What are you talking about? Of course it is. After all, the king and queen asked me to protect them personally." Infernape replied.

"Are you sure it's not just Princess Lopunny you want to protect?" Luxray continued slyly. At this Infernape blushed heavily.

"WHAT? How could you even think that? I like her as a friend, nothing more!" Infernape protested.

"He never asked if you liked her or not, he just asked whether or not it's just her you want to protect. Besides, if you didn't like her, why do you have a blush on your face, huh?" Staraptor joined in on the teasing.

"Because I'm so mad, my face is displaying my angry emotions!" Infernape argued, and the other Pokemon laughed at the childish response. Then Luxray and Staraptor stopped laughing when they heard the next statement Infernape made. "Besides, the two of you aren't exactly scot-free when it comes to liking some of the Team Majesta members! I've seen the way you and Staraptor look at Ninetales and Swellow, Luxray!"

Now Machamp, Drapion, and Abomasnow were laughing at the now-blushing Luxray and Staraptor, who were unintelligibly protesting.

Then Infernape sneered at the last three Pokemon. "Don't think I've forgotten about you guys. I think Medicham, Kricketune, and Roserade are perfect for you guys!" No one was laughing now. Infernape had completely revealed who everyone liked, including himself.

"In all seriousness, I think it's pretty clear that we of Team Valor do have romantic feelings for those in Team Majesta." Machamp said.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, about that Infernape." Luxray apologized.

"It's all right, Luxray." Infernape said, patting his friends back.

"Infernape!" a voice called. Team Valor turned around and saw Team Majesta running towards them. Princess Lopunny was in the lead, followed by Ninetales, Swellow, Medicham, Kricketune, and Roserade. They were currently running up the hill where Team Valor was sitting.

"Speak of the devil, here they come." Abomasnow muttered. The entire team could feel their heart rates increasing. One reason that Team Valor liked Team Majesta was because they were kind and great friends over the years, but there was another reason. As they evolved, in Team Valor's eyes, Team Majesta grew more and more beautiful, as Team Valor grew more and more attractive in Team Majesta's eyes.

"It's been some time, hasn't it?" Ninetales asked when they finished climbing the hill.

"Yes. How was the diplomatic meeting?" Luxray asked.

"It went well. The Kingdom of Zarton has agreed to ally itself with Laxos." Kricketune answered.

"But enough about us, how is your combination training going?" Swellow asked.

"It's going both ways. Machamp, Drapion, and Abomasnow are doing fine, but Luxray, Staraptor, and I still need some work." Infernape said.

"What? I thought you three were better than the other three." Lopunny said, surprised.

"We rely on one attack at a time. They have a lot more practice with combos than we do." Luxray explained.

"Anyway, what brings you here?" Drapion asked.

"Nothing, we just wanted to see you. It's been so long since we actually had free time together, what with all of us being very important to the kingdom. I mean, you guys are high-ranking royal knights, and we are as well, but we are also the diplomats of our kingdom." Roserade said.

"Don't you want to feel what we once felt? The freedom of childhood before we became more grown up?" Lopunny asked. The truth was that Team Valor did. Although they did not mind having to help out the kingdom, all of them missed romping around in the fields like they did back in the old days.

"That's the burden of being a princess, isn't it?" Infernape asked.

"It is indeed. Princess Lopunny needs moral support. That's why she has us." Ninetales said, gently brushing one of her tails against Lopunny.

"You know, we're always here to help you out if you need it. Just say the word." Machamp said.

"It would definitely be wrong of us if we didn't help you after all we've been through together." Drapion agreed.

"We know. We just can't find you all the time. Whenever we're home, you're out somewhere and when you're in, we're out. It's like fate has driven us away from each other." Medicham worried.

"It's just…so hard!" Swellow whined, tearing up a bit.

"We'll never let go of you guys, no matter what you think or what happens. Even if we're a thousand miles apart, we'll be connected. If you are in trouble, we'll help you in any way we can. It's that simple." Abomasnow vowed.

"Thank you, but…" Lopunny started.

"If you're worried that we are helping you just because you're a princess, you're wrong." Luxray said.

"It's because you're our friends, and friends help friends." Staraptor said, attempting to comfort Swellow.

"There is absolutely no way we would forget about you. I would risk my life to protect you!" Infernape said, moving up to Lopunny and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Now, let's relive some of those childhood memories and just play around for a bit, huh?" Drapion suggested with a smile. And so they did.

_Later that night…_

Infernape was walking back to his room in Team Valor's wing when he felt something touch his shoulder. He turned around and was surprised to see Princess Lopunny behind him.

"Do you have a minute, Infernape?" she asked.

"I have some time on my hands. Why?" he asked back.

"Come with me. I want to talk to you…in my room." Lopunny said. Infernape's eyes widened slightly but he did not object. He let Lopunny lead him towards her room.

When they got there, Infernape took in Lopunny's sweet scent. It smelled like the perfume she used-rose-scented. Lopunny took him towards her large window. It stretched all the way to the ceiling!

"I am surprised that you would let me in here, but also a bit flattered, princess. But what if…" Infernape said.

"Everyone else is asleep. We will not disturb anyone." Lopunny replied.

"Did you want to talk to me about something?" Infernape asked.

"Yes. As you know, I am beginning to grow up, and must soon find a husband." Lopunny said.

"Go on…" Infernape pressed.

"Well, mother and father are pressuring me for many possible suitors, but only one of them fits me." Lopunny worried.

"All right. I'll support you no matter who it is." Infernape soothed.

"Good, because that someone is you." Lopunny said. Infernape's jaw dropped right open.

Seeing his face, Lopunny said, "It's all right. I understand if you don't feel the same way about me. I'll just…" she was cut off by Infernape putting a finger against her lips.

"No, I'm just surprised. Why me, Lopunny? Why not one of your other suitors?" Infernape asked.

"Because you're the only one I can really trust. The other Pokemon I've met only seemed really ambitious to be king. Besides, I've known you for so long, and our being together and apart so frequently has made me realize how I really feel about you. I really, really like you, Infernape, and want to spend more time with you." Lopunny said.

Infernape walked up to her and placed his arms around her waist. "If you are asking whether or not I like you or not, I do. In fact, I've liked you for quite some time now." he answered, leaning in to kiss her. She was about to close the few millimeters between them when the window burst inwardly.

*CRASH!*

**Oh, man, they got interrupted! I feel sorry for the guy who walked in! **

**What's going to happen next? Review and you'll find out! I like reviews. **


	3. Team Valor Arc: Kidnapped!

**I know I kept you all in suspense after the last chapter, but here's what happens! Please enjoy and review!**

"What the?" Infernape said in surprise, trying to see who dared interrupt his and Lopunny's moment.

"Princess Lopunny! Oh, and Lord Infernape as well? What has happened here?" It was a group of Mightyena guards, trained by Luxray himself. No sooner than the guard who asked the question did a large and powerful Hyper Beam was shot at the entire group. Infernape was able to grab Lopunny and leap out of the way, but the still-bewildered guards weren't so lucky. They took a direct hit and all fell soundlessly to the ground.

"What? How could they have fallen so easily? They were trained by Luxray!" Lopunny asked.

"That is because they were all pathetic!" a voice answered from the cloud of dust. The owner of the voice was an Aerodactyl.

"Explain yourself! What are you doing in here?" Infernape demanded.

"You are in no position to make demands, fool. I believe I should be telling you what to do. Give me the princess, now." Aerodactyl growled.

"Never! If you want to get to her, you have to get through me first!" Infernape yelled, blocking the Aereodactyl's path to Lopunny.

"So be it. Prepare to die!" Aerodactyl warned. "Giga Impact!" he cried. With a large form of energy blazing around him, he flew at Infernape with a high speed that Infernape, with all his speed, could barely manage to dodge the attack, and it grazed his side.

Infernape then jumped onto Aerodactyl's back. Since Giga Impact was a move that caused a Pokemon to be unable to use moves quickly, Aerodactyl could barely react. Besides, Infernape had a new move that he was dying to try out anyway.

"Blast Burn!" he cried, using a recently-learned move. He formed a flame of blue fire in his mouth and released onto Aerodactyl. The flame quickly spread on a wide ring around Aerodatcyl's back. Although Aerodactyl was powerful and had a type-advantage, even it could not escape Blast Burn at close range.

"Aawk!" it screeched, and fell to the ground with some serious burns. Infernape quickly took Lopunny's hand and ran out of her room.

"We've got to wake up the others, right now!" Lopunny said. However, that was unnecessary, since all the other Team Majesta members were filing out of their rooms as they ran, joining them along the way. To Infernape's surprise, Team Valor's members were right behind Team Majesta as they ran out.

"Somehow, I don't want to know what you guys were doing in the rooms of your girlfriends." Infernape called over his shoulder.

"They weren't doing anything! Luxray and I were just talking!" Ninetales argued.

"Enough about that, what happened?" Machamp asked.

"Lopunny and I were interrupted by an Aerodactyl that was after Lopunny herself. However, I managed to knock it out with a Blast Burn at close range." Infernape explained.

"Interesting. What could they possibly want with Lopunny? Could it be a regular ransom kidnapping?" Medicham wondered.

"I doubt it. The Aerodactyl that attacked… I left this part out because I didn't want to worry you, but… with one Hyper Beam, it knocked out the Mightyena guards that Luxray personally trained." Infernape said.

"What? I trained those guards to be some of the best there are! It was that powerful?" Luxray said.

"It looks like it. We are going to have to protect Lopunny really well if we need to." Roserade said.

"I'm afraid that would be pointless." a voice said as they neared the gate. It made the twelve Pokemon stop right in their tracks. There was a group of powerful-looking Pokemon near the door. They were Electivire, Magmortar, Yanmega, Rhyperior, Ursaring, and Tangrowth.

"What do you want?" Drapion growled, beginning to power up his Cross Poison/X-Scissor/Poison Jab/Sludge Bomb combination form.

"Nothing. Just Team Majesta!" Rhyperior laughed. Then he charged up an attack. "Hammer Arm!" He quickly ran up to Medicham with this deadly attack. However, he did not count on Machamp's interference.

"Dynamic Punch!" Machamp yelled. He took the Hammer Arm with ease, and then punched Rhyperior on the stomach. The super-effective move caused Rhyperior quite a lot of pain, but Machamp wasted no time, finishing Rhyperior off with a Revenge attack, which was made twice as powerful due to the pain from Hammer Arm.

"That Machamp's strength is impressive." Magmortar observed. "But it's my turn! Fire Punch!" His fist was charged up with fire and he charged towards Lopunny herself. Infernape didn't allow this, however.

"Close Combat into Flare Blitz!" Infernape commanded. It was a risky move, seeing as how he hadn't perfected the combination yet, but he would do anything to protect Lopunny and keep the promise that he had made to her parents ever so long ago as a Chimchar. He went into a series of punches and kicks, and was able to gain distance with the second-to-last move, seeing how Magmortar had a large enough belly for Infernape to kick right off of. He finished Magmortar off with a powerful Flare Blitz.

"Nice, but you end here! Thunder Punch!" Electivire yelled. He charged up a punch aimed for Ninetales, but Luxray saw to it that he didn't make it to her.

"Crunch!" Luxray commanded, and he bit down hard on Electivire. Luxray was actually an excellent battle tactician, and he had studied up a lot on other species of Pokemon to produce counter-strategies. Therefore, he knew about Electivire's Motor Drive ability, so he refrained from using Electric-type attacks, as they would boost Electivire's speed. He then used Swagger to raise Electivire's attack, but confuse him as well. A few Crunches helped lower Electivire's defense. Due to the Confusion ability of Swagger, every time Electivire and attacked himself, he would suffer significant damage because of the lowered defense and raised attack. This strategy, along with the damage from Luxray's Crunch, soon tipped Electivire past his limit, and he was knocked out.

"Sonicboom!" Yanmega was the next to attack. Being the only Flying-Type Pokemon, it was ideal that he would aim for Swellow. It was also ideal that Staraptor would stop him.

"Aerial Ace!" he used this attack to boost his speed, first to get Swellow out of the way of Sonicboom, then instantly whirl into the extreme pain of Yanmega. Yanmega's Speed Boost ability didn't help much either, since no matter how fast Yanmega was, Staraptor always managed to use Aerial Ace to dodge any attacks and then cause super-effective damage to the Bug-Type. Using this strategy, he was able to easily knock Yanmega out.

"Focus Punch!" Ursaring yelled. Apparently, he was tired of his comrades' weak attacks, and was pulling out all the stops. Then he did something surprising-he was first enemy to use a combination. "Slash!" It was pretty smart, for while he charged up Focus Punch as a follow-up in case Slash failed, Slash alone was still powerful enough to knock his target-Kricketune. But not if her self-proclaimed protector had anything to say about it!

Drapion had his combination all ready. When he saw Ursaring charging towards Kricketune, he immediately reacted, using his speed to catch Ursaring off-guard. It worked, but Ursaring got out of his surprise quickly enough to use Slash on Drapion, which was blocked by the X-Scissor and Cross Poison claws of the Ogre Scorp Pokemon. However, Ursaring still had Focus Punch, and pounded down on Drapion. Fortunately, Drapion still had his Poison Jab and Sludge Bomb combination on his tail, and thrust this tail upward to meet the punch. The deadly poison in the tail wasn't enough to completely stop the punch, but it was enough to cancel out all of the energy in Focus Punch.

Therefore, when Ursaring was able to punch Drapion, stupidly thinking that he still had Focus Punch at full power, he was shocked when his punch was virtually ineffective against Drapion's super-tough armor. Also, the ridges on Drapion's armor, which Drapion had honed to a fine edge, had caused damage to Ursaring equal to that a Sharpedo's Rough Skin.

"Cross Poison!" Drapion was using a move that had the highest chance of one-hit KO. This was because Cross Poison had a high critical-hit rate, and with the Scope Lens that Drapion was wearing, that critical-hit rate was boosted even more. Not only that, Drapion's Sniper ability caused extra damage whenever he landed a critical hit. Fortunately, it worked, and Ursaring was knocked out nearly as easily as his comrades.

Tangrowth was targeting Roserade with Power Whip. However, Abomasnow blocked it with his Frozen Wood Hammer combination. He then used his most powerful attack, an all-out Blizzard. For the poor Tangrowth, it was over too quickly.

"That's it? I though that it would be tougher than this." Drapion said. He was right. A shriek from Lopunny alerted their attention to her-and to an alarming sight. A Dusknoir had grabbed the entire Team Majesta, who were struggling in vain.

"No! What are you doing to them? Let them go immediately!" Infernape yelled in anger.

"Why would I? Kidnapping your beloveds was the objective from the very beginning." Dusknoir hissed.

"What are you after?" Luxray yelled as furiously as Infernape.

"If you ever want to see your loved ones again, you will come to the Kingdom of Zarton immediately." Dusknoir replied.

"Like we'll let you go! Brave Bird!" Staraptor cried. Unfortunately, he was quickly intercepted.

"Weavile! Sableye! Attack!" Dusknoir ordered. A powerful Icy Wind from a group of Weavile from behind Team Valor knocked canceled out the Brave Bird and knocked out the Flying-Type as quickly as possible. Caught completely by surprise, Team Valor had no time to react, especially with the speed of the new opponents. Infernape, Luxray, Machamp, and Abomasnow were swarmed by a large group of Sableye using Shadow Claw. Drapion, being resistant to Shadow Claw, was taken out by the Weavile using Metal Claw. They were actually nimble enough to reach under Drapion's armor and get to the softer skin underneath, so Drapion suffered huge damage. All of them were knocked out after some time.

"Pick up the others and let's go." Dusknoir commanded. The Weavile quickly lifted up the fallen Pokemon that Team Valor had beaten, while the Sableye ran into Lopunny's room and picked up Aerodactyl.

"You won't get away with this!" Kricketune screamed.

Dusknoir laughed. "We already have. Shadow Sneak!" Dragging Team Majesta with him, Dusknoir melted into the shadows and left in the night, with the Sableye and Weavile following his shadow.

_Later…_

King Lucario was sitting in Team Valor's room, waiting for them to wake up. Some guards had heard the commotion and rushed to the scene, but by the time they got there, all they found was Team Valor, all knocked out. After having their wounds treated by the Head Nurse Blissey, all Team valor needed was some rest, and Infernape had enough, as he was the first one to wake up.

Upon seeing King Lucario's face, Infernape opened his eyes wide. "Y-your Majesty! Please forgive me!" he stammered.

"I am well aware of what happened, Infernape." The king said seriously. Infernape hung his head in shame. "And I am very…impressed with you." At this Infernape looked up in surprise.

"But sir! I failed. I failed in upholding the promise I made to you and myself. I failed in protecting the one I care about most in this world. I failed to protect the one whom I loved, and the one who trusted me! I failed in protecting YOUR DAUGHTER!" Infernape cried.

"Stop beating yourself up. You were only beaten because you were tired. There's no shame in losing to an enemy when you are in that condition and the enemy numbers vastly outnumber yours." Lucario replied.

Continuing, he said, "Infernape…can I let you in on a secret? There is a reason that the queen and I chose you to be one of our daughter's options to marry. It is because we trust you above all. It was not surprising when, yesterday night, she came up to us and said, 'Infernape is the one I want to marry!' We didn't mind at all. She clearly loved you as much as you seem to love her. This goes without asking, but you will, go to the Kingdom of Zarton to go rescue Lopunny, correct?"

Infernape saluted. "Yes, my lord. As I have sworn to protect Lopunny ever so long ago, I will now swear to save her!" Just then, the other Team Valor members rose.

"Your Majesty, we heard the entire conversation. And as our leader swore to save Lopunny, we swear as well to save the others of Team Majesta." Luxray said.

Staraptor, seeing Infernape's doubtful look, "Look, Infernape, you can't do this alone. Besides, did you really think we would let you go alone anyway? We've been friends for a long time, and friends help each other."

"We will work together forever, no matter what happens!" Abomasnow rumbled.

"Thank you." Infernape said.

**Hope you enjoyed, and please review!**


	4. Journey Arc: Abomasnow's Triumph

**Sorry I kept you all waiting! Here's the fourth chapter to make it up to you guys! **

As Infernape walked through the Kingdom of Laxos, he was lost deep in thought. What if he failed like before? King Lucario had put a lot of responsibility on his team, and as its leader, he had to do all he could to carry out the duty. But was he really ready for it? As he walked, he actually wasn't watching where he was going, and inevitably bumped into another Pokemon.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the other Pokemon grumbled. Then he saw Infernape and broke into a friendly grin. "Oh, hey! It's Infernape! It's been a while, hasn't it, matey?"

Infernape was confused until he saw the face of the speaker. He smiled as well. "Hello, Walrein." Walrein was an old friend of Team Valor's. He was a powerful general of Laxos's naval force. Team Valor had worked with him on several occasions ever since he was a young Spheal. The last time Infernape had heard from him, Walrein was locked in a naval battle against the Kingdom of Zarton.

"Aye, it's good to see you, old friend. I came back after hearing that her majesty Princess Lopunny had formed a treaty with Zarton, but once I set foot on this beautiful kingdom, I find Pokemon so tense they aren't even looking where they're going!" Walrein laughed, only half joking.

"Sorry, Walrein." Infernape said. Walrein noticed his glum tone and put a concerned face on.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. Infernape didn't respond, only hung his head.

"Infernape!" Infernape turned to see Luxray racing towards him. Luxray stopped when he saw Walrein.

"Hello, Walrein." Luxray greeted. He also seemed rather gloomy to Walrein.

"What's the matter with you all? Aren't you happy to see me?" Walrein asked.

Infernape sighed and relayed the events of the past few days. He left out the part about him and Lopunny so that he wouldn't embarrass himself.

"Aye, seems you are in for quite the journey. I knew Zarton couldn't be trusted." Walrein growled. Then he smiled. "Well, you won't have to worry that much. I know Team Majesta, and they'll be fine."

"It was nice seeing you Walrein, but we're going to have to part here. Infernape, King Lucario wanted us to meet him in ten minutes, so do whatever you have to do in that time." Luxray said.

Infernape nodded and Luxray stalked off. Waving goodbye to Walrein, he ran through the streets. He reached his destination which was a jewelry store. Being a high-ranking knight, he had a lot of money, and so he purchased a ruby necklace from the jeweler.

The reason was that there was an old custom in the palace. It was to give a gift to the one you loved. That gift had to be made of your type's corresponding color. For example, fire was the ruby, water was the sapphire, electricity was the topaz, grass was the emerald, fighting was the diamond, flying was the aquamarine, poison was the amethyst, bug was the opal, ice was the lapis lazuli, and normal was the pearl. Since Infernape was fire, it was natural that he would give something made out of a ruby to Lopunny.

After buying the necklace, he ran back to the palace as quickly as he could. The guards informed hi m that the meeting was in the throne room, so Infernape moved there. King Lucario and Queen Lopunny were already there, as well as Gallade and Gardevoir. Also present were Luxray, Staraptor, and Drapion. Machamp and Abomasnow hadn't arrived yet, which was not surprising considering their natural speed.

"You're here, Infernape." Queen Lopunny said. He nodded and took a seat in the middle of his entire team. As he sat down, Machamp and Abomasnow came in flustered, babbling apologies. Then they took their seats at the very edge of the team.

"You will set out the day after tomorrow. However, as you may have already guessed, this will be a difficult journey. We have arranged a map for your mission, and it was done by the best mapmakers of the kingdom, so you do not have to worry about getting lost." King Lucario said.

Infernape looked at the map. It seemed to have mystical properties. As a matter of fact, there were clouds actually moving around on the page!

"Do not worry. This map is special because it actually shows your destinations. I gave you a route so that you can train easily along the way as well as relax just as easily. The places on the route that you will take are not overly dangerous, but they are still difficult to pass. Oh, and Team Majesta had to take the same route as you, so no need to think that they had an easier journey than you will." Gardevoir explained.

"You made this map?" Drapion asked in surprise.

"Who else could make a map of such amazing quality but Gardevoir? Her psychic abilities make her the most trusted mapmaker in the entire land!" Gallade explained, casting an admiring glance at his wife.

"I cannot take all the credit. You helped as well." Gardevoir argued gently.

"You did most of the work. Besides, psychic mapmaking has never been one of my strong points. Fighting is what I can do best." Gallade said.

"It is not surprising, Master Gallade." Staraptor said, dipping his head in respect.

"Oh, there is no need to call me master. The six of you have done excellently over the years. You have reached my rank. I am no longer your teacher. Now, I am nothing but your comrade." Gallade said.

"Now, get some rest and do whatever you can to prepare. Tomorrow you will be free to do what you wish. Then you will set out. You are dismissed." King Lucario said. Everyone bowed and left, except for Infernape. He started to leave, then turned back to ask something of the queen and king.

"Infernape, what is it? You were dismissed, were you not?" Queen Lopunny asked.

Infernape bowed and spoke. "My apologies, but I find this time fitting to ask something of you. I ask permission to court your daughter after I save her, and when the time is right, I ask permission to marry her." Infernape was shaking inside, and was surprised to hear King Lucario's hearty laugh.

"I believe we already cleared this up, Infernape. You have full permission to do those things." King Lucario said.

"As my husband already explained to you, we trust you with all our hearts." Queen Lopunny added.

"Thank you, your majesties. My apologies for wasting your time, I just wanted to be certain." Infernape said, bowing. Then he left.

Team Valor spent the rest of the day and the next one debriefing the small amounts of soldiers they commanded. Infernape was the leader of a battalion of Primeape that specialized in close combat. Luxray was in command of a battalion of Mightyena that was usually the ones that led attacks. Staraptor's battalion of Fearow made up an aerial force that was ranked among the best not only in the kingdom, but in the entire land. Machamp had a fair amount of Golem trained to crush almost any force in their way. Drapion's team of Seviper specialized in spying and assassination if necessary. Finally, Abomasnow's team of Glalie was a key asset when it came to stopping enemies due to their ability to freeze almost anything. Team Valor commanded their respective teams to fulfill only one goal-to protect the kingdom of Laxos at all costs.

On the day they were to leave, Infernape shouldered his pack and headed out to join his teammates next to the city gates. They were seen off by almost all of the residential Pokémon that wished them all luck.

_A few hours later…  
_"Our first landmark should be somewhere around here. The Wall of Ice." Luxray said, looking at the map. "The map says that due to some enchantment, it can hold out against hot weather, but it still has a weakness to fire."

"Hey, guys, look at this." Drapion said. He was looking at a board that seemed to have words on it.

_Transverse the ice that is impossible to melt_

_The path shall be opened to those who felt._

"What does it mean? Ice that is impossible to melt? Is that even possible?" Machamp asked.

"I guess it's referring to that wall of ice over there."Staraptor said, gesturing at a sheet of ice on a wall with his beak.

"Flamethrower!" Infernape yelled. While the flames were indeed intense, when they dissipated, the ice was still there.

"Impossible. My Flamethrower can melt any ice, no matter how strong it is. " Infernape gasped.

"And besides, this is the Wall of Ice. It should be possible to melt it with fire." Luxray said.

"Wait a minute. Try again." Abomasnow said. He seemed to be focusing when he looked. When the flame stopped, he shook his head. "No wonder it didn't melt. The fire never hit it in the first place!" he exclaimed.

"Is there a barrier?" Luxray asked, putting his paw out. There was. His paw stopped at about an inch from touching the ice.

"Good thing I learned this new move. It is specially built for breaking down force fields like these. Brick Break!" Abomasnow shouted. He punched right through the barrier and got out of the way as Infernape fired his Flamethrower. The ice melted and in its place was a roaring waterfall.

"It's obvious what we have to do." Drapion said, crouching.

"One, two, three, let's go!" Infernape commanded. They all ran at full speed and leapt right into the waterfall. Abomasnow nearly fell down the cliff that the waterfall flowed down to, but luckily Machamp managed to pull him up.

They were in a tunnel that led into the outer world, but something was in the way.

"I am Mr. Mime." The strange being said. "You have done well to transverse my barrier and thaw the waterfall, but now you have to get past me!"

"I'll take him." Abomasnow said, stepping forward. Mr. Mime grinned and beckoned him over teasingly.

"Let's go!" Mr. Mime automatically set up a barrier around himself. It was strong enough to deflect even Abomasnow's Ice Beam/Wood Hammer combination.

"Psychic!" Mr. Mime called. Abomasnow was easily flung across the tunnel. "Psybeam!" The attack hit Abomasnow midair and sent him crashing to the ground.

Abomasnow was not finished yet. "Blizzard!" The howling attack was sent towards Mr. Mime, who grinned cockily.

"Psychic!" he sent the Blizzard right back at Abomasnow, who seemingly ran straight into the attack. Mr. Mime, believing that he had won, especially after Psybeam hit in midair, threw his head back, closed his eyes, and laughed in triumph.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you." Abomasnow's voice said from somewhere close by. Mr. Mime opened his eyes and saw Abomasnow towering above him. The next thing he knew, he had been hit by two huge amounts of freezing pain, hit the wall, and was knocked out.

_Later…_

"Hey, Abomasnow, how did you do that?" Machamp asked after they had left the cave.

"I ran into the blizzard, all right, but what any of you didn't see was that I had my Ice Beam-frozen wood hammers all ready. Also, I used Brick Break to add a barrier-piercing spike to the middles of my hammers. Then I ran into the blizzard with my hammers out to clear a path and got my frozen Wood Hammers even more powerful with the extra ice the Blizzard gave me. Finally, I broke his barrier, without him hearing thanks to that loud laugh of his, and smashed the daylights out of him." Abomasnow said with a chuckle. Everyone else cringed- they could only imagine how painful that had been.

"Our next destination is called Corruption Cave." Luxray said.

"Ooh boy, that sounds dangerous." Staraptor said.

"That's what makes it fun, right?" Infernape said from the front. Everyone laughed continued walking.

What they didn't know was that Dusknoir, who had kidnapped Team Majesta, was watching them. He chuckled lightly and quietly. "Fools." he hissed. "You have no idea what happens to travelers in Corruption Cave. It's a good thing I switched maps. They will be in for the trials of their lives! By the time they get to the Kingdom of Zarton, I will have taken over Laxos completely!" he laughed.

And back at the palace, Gardevoir discovered a note on the table next to the bed that she and Gallade shared. After reading it, she cried out. "Oh, no!"

"What is it?" Gallade asked, coming in. He took the note from his wife and his eyes widened. He growled. "Blast it! It looks like Team Valor is in danger! We have to go tell the king, now!" Gallade said.

And then deep in the Kingdom of Zarton, Medicham was pacing around the room in which Team Majesta was imprisoned fretfully.

"Don't worry, Medicham. Team Valor will be here soon, including Machamp. In the meantime, we should probably be coming up with escape plans." Kricketune said, always the reasonable one, but still, her thoughts were somewhat clouded by the thoughts she had about Drapion.

"We'll get out soon enough." Roserade said, still thinking about Abomasnow.

Princess Lopunny, Ninetales, and Swellow were standing at the window, looking at the large expanse of land that was the Kingdom of Zarton.

"Staraptor…" Swellow whispered.

"You must get here, Team Valor. Please. Please, Luxray." Ninetales pleaded quietly, as if he could hear her.

"Oh, Infernape, just get here already. I'm getting impatient." Lopunny murmured with a small smile.

**Well, that was interesting. Here's a quick preview.**

"_Geez, for a guy with 5 ,000 IQ, you are an idiot! Those attacks are worth nothing on me!" _

**I'll give you two hints. If you know your Pokémon types, you will know who is battling next chapter in Team Valor.**

**The attacker with 5,000 IQ is a Psychic-type.**

**The speaker is saying that Psychic-type attacks are useless against him because they have no effect on him.**


	5. Journey Arc: Drapion's Attack

**OK, I had some free time on my hands, so I decided to update today! Have fun reading this!**

"What?" King Lucario said after Gallade and Gardevoir told him and Queen Lopunny what they had found.

"It's true, sir. It appears that someone has switched maps. Whoever it was left this a note to tell us. The places that my wife chose were rather easy and comfortable. However, the places that the switcher put on his own map, which is the one that Team Valor has now, are not for the weak-hearted." Gallade said.

Gardevoir listed the places on the note. "The Wall of Ice, Corruption Cave, Mt. Dynamo, Forest of Clouds, Thunderous Plains, and Eruption Crater. If they follow this path, they will still get to the Kingdom of Zarton, but it will be far more dangerous, and the chances of them dying are much higher than if they took the path I had chosen."

"You do not have to worry about them, Gardevoir." Queen Lopunny said. Gardevoir looked at her in surprise, as did Gallade. Queen Lopunny continued. "They are the most powerful fighters in this age. I am sure that they will hold themselves up very well."

"She's right. We just have to trust them." King Lucario said. At that moment, one of Staraptor's Fearow army members burst in.

"My deepest apologies for interrupting, Your Majesties, Lord Gallade, Lady Gardevoir." Fearow shrieked. "But I have just been around the area of the Wall of Ice. The only thing is it had been turned into a waterfall! One of the Mightyena and one of the Primeape I was with leapt into the waterfall, and we have found a fallen Mr. Mime behind it! The strange thing was that it had bruises, and the bruises were half-frozen!"

Everyone else in the room looked at each other. "Do you think that was…" Gardevoir started.

"There's no doubt. We have not received word of any other Pokémon traveling around the Wall of Ice area. It had to be Abomasnow." Gallade said.

"What did you do with that Mr. Mime, young Fearow?" King Lucario asked.

"We have taken him into custody, in case you would like to question him." The Fearow answered with a tone of pride.

"Excellent. We will go question him now." Queen Lopunny said, rising from her throne.

_Meanwhile…_

"Corruption Cave is dead ahead." Luxray said.

"We should rest for the night. It's getting pretty dark, and besides, the amount of berries we've gathered is pretty big. We don't want our bags to burst." Drapion said. It was true. They had gathered almost every type of berry.

"Alright, then. I was getting rather hungry, anyway." Infernape said, setting down his pack. As he did, the ruby necklace that he had packed to give to Lopunny fell out. He tried to catch it before anyone else noticed, but it was too late when he got it. Everyone saw what it was.

"Following the ancient custom, Infernape?" Staraptor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not funny." Infernape growled.

"Hey, we're not making fun of you. You're not the only one." Machamp said. He then drew out a diamond ring for Medicham from his pack. Abomasnow brought out a lapis lazuli bracelet for Roserade from his belongings. Drapion took out a pair of amethyst earrings for Kricketune from his pack. Staraptor revealed an aquamarine hairpin for Swellow from his pack. Finally, Luxray took out a topaz locket for Ninetales from his own pack. All of them looked embarrassed as they did this.

"As you can see, we are not going to be outdone by you." Abomasnow said.

Infernape gave a short laugh and put the necklace back into his pack, as did everyone else for their gifts. They ate in silence. The berries they ate were not only for nutrition, but to protect them from any possible status problems. Pecha berries for poison, Cheri berries for paralysis, Aspear berries for freezing, and Rawst berries for burns. The effects would last into the next day.

Machamp went to get eight fallen tree trunks, while Staraptor cut down leaves with a combination of Aerial Ace and Steel Wing. They then made two beds by putting four tree trunks into the shape of a square and then putting a huge pile of leaves in it. It was comfortable. Infernape, Staraptor, and Abomasnow slept in one makeshift bed, while Luxray, Machamp, and Drapion slept in the other. Despite the limited space, they slept peacefully, and were fully refreshed by the next morning.

They ate another breakfast of berries and apples. For an extra treat, they also ate some fried Seaking meat, which were formerly some dead naval soldiers from Walrein's navy. They were freshly cleaned, cooked, and well-prepared, and were eaten to honor the dead souls of the navy.

After this hearty meal, they were all ready to move on to Corruption Cave. Upon entering, Drapion felt a mysterious feeling creep over him, a sense of foreboding.

"_I have a bad feeling about this_." he thought.

_Some time later…_

Team Valor had surprisingly not encountered any other enemies yet, despite the long cave. Also, the seemingly eternal cave seemed to stretch on, and this was frustrating the entire team, except for Drapion.

"Ugh, what is wrong with this place? I don't have any time for this!" Machamp complained, punching the wall.

"Stop it! We don't know what this place can do! There is no telling what could happen to us!" Infernape shouted.

"Whatever could happen, it must be stoppable, or else people would not have even heard of it!" Luxray said.

All of a sudden, Staraptor's body was surrounded by red energy, and he was pinned against the wall. The same thing happened with everyone else, except for Drapion. "What? What's going on?" he asked, looking at his companions.

"I should be asking you. What is the meaning of this? Why isn't my psychic power working on you?" a new voice growled in frustration. Drapion turned around to see a strange Pokemon. Its eyes were glowing with red energy, the same kind that was trapping his friends to the wall. Drapion took his battle stance.

"Who are you?" he snarled.

"I am Alakazam, the lord of Corruption Cave. There is a reason this place is so dangerous. My psychic powers keep almost everyone at bay. Aside from certain Pokemon, they have all died here. You should be just as helpless as your friends, due to your Poison-Type nature. I have 5,000 IQ, so I am never wrong! How is it that you can resist my powers without even flinching?" Alakazam shouted. When Drapion gave a smug smile, he clenched his fist in anger. "Fine! I shall have to force it out of you! Psybeam!" He launched a powerful blast from his palms.

He was in for a huge surprise. Drapion snapped his tail forward and flicked the Psybeam away with barely disguised contempt. "_This guy isn't the challenge I was expecting."_ he thought. Then he grew even more amused when he realized Alakazam was attempting another, more powerful Psychic attack.

"Psychic!" Alakazam tried. A red energy surrounded Drapion's body. It dissipated at once.

Inwardly, despite being pinned to the wall, the rest of Team Valor just could not restrain their need to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Alakazam demanded.

"Geez, for a Pokemon with 5,000 IQ, you are an idiot! Those attacks are worth nothing on me! I am a dual-type Pokemon. My other type is Dark-Type." Drapion explained with a cocky grin.

"And as you should have known, Psychic-type moves have no effect on Dark-Type Pokemon!" Luxray added. Alakazam paled. He was not aware of the fact that Drapion was a Dark-Type.

Still, he would not give up, to Drapion's surprise. "Energy Ball!" The Grass-Type move was something that was not deflected, but countered.

"Sludge Bomb!" Drapion normally used this attack to power up Poison Jab, but he was also skilled with firing the deadly and poisonous projectiles. The Energy Ball was broken instantly with contact with the Sludge Bombs, despite having a weak effect on Alakazam, still caused some smoke to well up upon contact with Alakazam's body, thereby blinding him.

This gave Drapion the distinct opportunity to attack. With his speed, it was quite easy to sneak up on Alakazam. "X-Scissor!" The Bug-Type move was super effective on Alakazam, and brought the Psychic-Type Pokemon to his knees.

"I'm not finished yet! Focus Blast!" Alakazam said. Drapion's eyes widened as he jumped away. He quickly powered up his Cross Poison/X-Scissor/Poison Jab/Sludge Bomb combo. When Alakazam launched his powerful blast, it was all Drapion could do not to get blown away. With his X-Scissor and Cross Poison claws, he was barely able to hold his ground. Gritting his teeth, Drapion stuck his Sludge Bomb/Poison Jab tail into the Focus Blast as well. Unfortunately, it blew up, and blew Drapion into a wall.

"Drapion, are you all right?" Infernape shouted.

"I'll be fine! Just don't worry about me!" Drapion growled. Now he could see how Alakazam was able to beat any Dark-Types that went into this cave. Focus Blast was a Fighting-Type move, and even though Drapion was able to lessen the damage from the Focus Blast, the impact was amazing. Luckily, he had trained against Machamp to try to learn how to counter Focus Blast, and it helped, but even that training hadn't prepared Drapion for something like this.

Then he got an idea. Focus Blast took a few seconds and a lot of energy to charge up. It seemed that the last Focus Blast had taken a lot out of Alakazam's energy. If he could take advantage of the time needed to charge up Focus Blast, he could just get close enough to strike.

"Pathetic! Where's your bravado now? Focus Blast!" Alakazam laughed. Drapion charged right when Alakazam launched the Focus Blast. Although Drapion was going fast, it was not his top speed. At top speed, he could actually run on par with Infernape. He once had a race with Infernape and a few other Pokemon, namely Rapidash, Garchomp, Dodrio, Sceptile, Persian, Linoone, and even Princess Lopunny. He came up below the princess and his leader in third place.

After dodging the Focus Blast, Drapion went into top speed, and used his strength to ram Alakazam. The Psi Pokemon had no chance after the Ogre Scorp Pokemon used his next move.

"X-Scissor!" It was over. Alakazam had just taken two direct X-Scissor hits. It would have been insane to continue. Once Alakazam fainted, the psychic energy imprisoning Team Valor dissipated.

"Nice job, Drapion!" Staraptor crowed. Drapion grinned as Abomasnow slapped him a high five.

"Luxray, what's our next location?" Infernape asked.

"Mt. Dynamo. It's not too far from here." Luxray answered.

Upon hearing the name Mt. Dynamo, Machamp paled. _"Mt. Dynamo… the place where I used to live. And if we're fighting who I think we're fighting, we could be in for some serious trouble!"_

In the shadows, a Beedrill spy from Yanmega's squad watched as Team Valor left Corruption Cave through the exit that appeared when Alakazam fainted. As quickly as he could before Team Valor spotted him, the Beedrill flew as quickly as he could back to the Kingdom of Zarton.

He broke into the throne room panting. "Your Majesty Dusknoir! Both Mr. Mime and Alakazam have been beaten!"

Dusknoir leapt from his throne. "WHAT! Impossible! Those two were just below Magmortar, Electivire, Ursaring, Yanmega, Rhyperior, and Tangrowth! How could they have been beaten so easily?" he roared.

"Sir, if it's any comfort at all, they still have to get through Mt. Dynamo." Beedrill said.

Dusknoir calmed down, and the face on his stomach seemed to smile with malice. "If that's the case, then we will not have to worry! The Pokemon I sent there is far too powerful for any of them to handle!" he laughed maniacally.

Lopunny and Team Majesta were listening in. Dusknoir had put them in a bedroom that was right next to the throne room. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that the rooms in his castle were not soundproof, and Team Majesta just heard every word they had said.

Upon hearing the name Mt. Dynamo, Medicham gasped quietly.

"Medicham, what's wrong?" Ninetales asked.

"Mt. Dynamo… I have to tell you guys something about it. Mt. Dynamo used to be a haven for Fighting-Type Pokemon. Before our parents died, Machamp and I used to play around and live there as Machop and Meditite. It was perfect…until _he _came." Medicham sighed.

"Who?" Kricketune pressed.

"A Pokemon called Metagross. He was strong enough to snap our parents like twigs. When he came into Mt. Dynamo, he completely took it over in the name of the Kingdom of Zarton. As far as I know, Machamp and I were the only ones to escape. We fled to the city where we met you guys." Medicham explained.

"Wait. If Metagross is still there, then…" Roserade started.

"Team Valor could be in serious trouble!" Lopunny panicked.

"No. They'll be fine. I don't think that they'll lose. We'll have to believe in them. They would do anything to save us." Swellow said.

"How can you be so sure, Swellow?" Lopunny asked.

"Didn't you see their eyes that night when we were kidnapped? They were blazing with the desire to protect us." Swellow said.

"She's right! I remember seeing Luxray's eyes burning with anger when he looked at his opponent. It must have been because he tried to hurt me." Ninetales remembered.

"And remember when Infernape used Blaze against Armaldo when we were only kids, and then he got me out of the way of Ancientpower?" Lopunny asked, her eyes sparkling.

"I'll never forget that day." Kricketune sighed.

"Medicham, you know what Machamp is capable of. You just have to believe in him." Swellow encouraged. Medicham nodded.

"Team Valor will save us. I'm sure of it." Roserade said.

**So, it looks like Machamp is going to avenge his parents! But what are the chances of him succeeding? Will he be beaten down just as easily as his parents, or will his love for Medicham and his desire to avenge his and her parents pull him through? Metagross is pretty tough after all!**

**By the way, if you're thinking that it's impossible for a Drapion to run that fast, think again! Despite its bulk, Drapion can actually move pretty quickly for someone his size. In my Pokemon Pearl game, my Drapion can actually outrun my Infernape! In fact, he's my fastest Pokemon! **

**And if you're wondering, yes, Team Valor is based off of my team in Pearl. Sorry for rambling, and please review! **


	6. Journey Arc: Machamp's Revenge

**Here's Chapter Six, in honor of Veteran's Day! **

Infernape was pretty pleased with his team. After passing both the Wall of Ice and Corruption Cave, who wouldn't be? Both Abomasnow and Drapion had shown great mastery over their combos, and if he wasn't mistaken, Mt. Dynamo should really boost up their power.

"Infernape, hold it!" Luxray called from behind him.

"What is it, Luxray?" he asked, turning back towards his best friend.

"We should probably take a break. Mt. Dynamo isn't exactly something that sounds easy." Luxray said.

"Luxray, I'm not sure if it's such a good idea to delay. Team Majesta is counting on us." Staraptor pointed out.

"No, he has a point. Mt. Dynamo is not something you would like to deal with. It is only meant for the strongest Pokemon, and we will need to be at full strength if we want to get through it." Machamp said. Everyone else was surprised. Machamp was always eager for a battle, prepared or unprepared. It wasn't normal for him to be agreeing with Luxray whenever he called for breaks.

"Whatever. My feet aren't exactly up to their best shape, anyway." Drapion said. Abomasnow hadn't said anything, but he nodded in agreement, for he was also a bit worn out.

:They picked a clearing to eat berries, which was enough to keep Team Valor's strength up, despite their small size.

"Hey, Machamp, what has been going in your head lately? You seem to be a little on edge ever since we started going to Mt. Dynamo." Infernape asked.

"It's nothing. I'm just a bit excited. I haven't been to Mt. Dynamo in such a long time. I used to live there as a child before I joined Team Valor, after all." Machamp said. Seeing the surprised looks on everyone else's faces, he sighed. "I haven't really told you about my past, have I?"

"No, it's fine. Besides, you would make for a good guide, after all." Drapion said.

"It's been twelve years since I've been there. Things may have changed drastically, I hope." Machamp said.

" 'You hope'? Why?" Staraptor said.

"Yeah, is there something going on at Mt. Dynamo?" Abomasnow asked.

"Maybe, but it's been twelve years. With any luck, Mt. Dynamo should have gotten better over the years." Machamp said, trying to convince himself as well as everyone else.

They moved on and got to Mt. Dynamo in minutes. Once there, Machamp felt old childhood memories resurface, childhood memories that were even older than the ones he shared with Team Valor.

He was broken out of his reverie by three voices.

"Mega Kick!" one voice called.

"Mega Punch!" another one yelled.

"Rapid Spin!" a third voice shouted.

Team Valor quickly reacted, and jumped away from the spot where they were standing, therefore causing the attacks to miss and creating a huge cloud of dust. The three voices spoke from the dust.

"Get out! You will not harm Mt. Dynamo!" the first voice growled.

"If you will not leave, then we will resort to using brute force!" the second voice added.

"I can assure you, if we attack, you will feel the pain even weeks from now!" the third voice threatened.

"Good. If we attack, you will feel the pain for months on end." Drapion replied.

"First of all, why don't you show yourselves? We should at least know who we're dealing with!" Staraptor shouted.

There was a short silence, and then three Pokemon stepped from the dust.

"I am Hitmonlee!" the first one declared, making a dramatic kicking pose.

"I am Hitmonchan!" the second one shouted, punching the air like a champion.

"And I am Hitmontop!" the third said, standing on his head.

"Together we are…the Hitmon Brothers!" they yelled.

Machamp's eyes widened, seemingly in realization, and started guffawing. "Oh, boy, you guys are still on that?" he laughed.

"Hey, why are you laughing and acting like you know us, strange Pokemon who bears a striking resemblance to our old friend Machop?" Hitmonlee asked.

"Guys, that's because I used to be Machop! I just evolved into Machamp! It's great to see you, Tyrogue Brothers!" Machamp said, walking up to them and holding three hands out.

"What? You're Machop? It can't be! Machop left years ago!" Hitmonchan argued.

"Then why don't you test me? Hitmontop, throw about eight rocks at me. I will crush them all in two seconds!" Machamp claimed. Hitmontop threw ten rocks instead of eight, but Machamp still used only one Focus Blast to destroy them all. It took him 1.5 seconds.

"It's true! Only Machop could destroy that many rocks with Focus Blast!" Hitmontop said.

Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan still weren't convinced. "Oh, yeah? Machop could fight us without breaking a sweat when we were still Tyrogue, even with if we fought three-on-one! Let's see what he could do now! Mega Kick!" Hitmonlee shouted.

"Mega Punch!" Hitmonchan yelled.

Hitmontop sighed and attacked as well. "Gyro Ball!"

"Cross Chop and Dynamic Punch!" Machamp commanded, using his replacement move for Karate Chop. He jumped to dodge the Mega Punch and Kick that were flying at him from both sides, and came down with the Cross Chop on Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, hitting them hard. The resulting dust messed up Hitmontop's Gyro Ball because he couldn't see, giving Machamp the opportunity to hit with Dynamic Punch.

"Wow. That was interesting to watch." Luxray commented, watching with the rest of Team Valor from their seats.

All three Hitmon brothers were down, and got up with difficulty. "Convinced now?" Machamp said smugly.

"Heh-heh, there's doubt about it; you're Machop evolved into Machamp." Hitmonchan said with a grin.

"It's good to see you, but you and your friends couldn't have come at a worse time." Hitmonlee said.

"Metagross is still around, and he's just as strong as ever. We have been in hiding ever since you and Meditite left. Even though we are the strongest here, even we can't take on Metagross three-on-one." Hitmontop explained sadly.

"Don't worry about it. We can easily beat whoever this Metagross is." Infernape said confidently, walking up to them.

"Oh, yeah? And who are you?" Hitmonlee asked.

"I am Infernape. Behind me are Luxray, Drapion, Staraptor, and Abomasnow. It seems that you already know Machamp. The six of us make up one of the Kingdom of Laxos's top fighting forces- Team Valor." Infernape said.

"T-team Valor? The team who is supposedly made up of the most powerful Pokemon in Laxos?" Hitmonchan asked incredulously.

"That's right." Luxray confirmed.

"This is amazing! I never thought that our old friend Machamp would be part of that team! Can I have your autographs later?" Hitmontop asked.

"Okay." Staraptor answered. Everyone was unaware of the approaching danger hurtling at them from the sky.

"Meteor Mash!" a voice rumbled. Upon hearing this, everyone scattered. The Pokemon using the powerful attack created a crater with a twenty-foot long diameter. When the dust cleared, the former Mt. Dynamo residents' eyes widened. It was Metagross himself.

"WHO DARES DEFY THE GREAT METAGROSS!" the huge Pokemon roared.

"Everyone, I'll take care of this guy. Metagross was the main reason my parents died, as well as Medicham's." Machamp growled. Seeing the confused looks on the Hitmon Brothers' faces, he explained. "Medicham is Meditite's evolved form. You didn't really think she stayed the same after all these years, do you?"

"Oh, so you still like her?" Hitmonlee teased. Machamp blushed and ignored them, moving into Metagross's sight, while Luxray and Staraptor dragged the Hitmon brothers aside and explained the situation. They spoke of the romances that Team Valor had with Team Majesta, how Team Majesta was kidnapped by the Kingdom of Zarton, and how Team Valor were now on a rescue mission to save them. They finished just in time to watch the beginning of the battle between Machamp and Metagross.

"Metagross! I'm going to get revenge for what you did to Medicham's parents and my own!" Machamp declared.

"Oh, please! It's not like you have a chance! Zen Headbutt!" Metagross called. He bathed his shiny dome in psychic energy and flew forward with his dome facing forward.

"Revenge!" Machamp said. He moved out of the way so that the Zen Headbutt would just graze his fingers enough to feel a sting, but it was enough to get Revenge's power doubled. He struck with the powerful fist, causing significant but not quite super effective damage to Metagross, due to the Steel and Psychic type combination.

"Meteor Mash! Hammer Arm!" Metagross yelled. One of his arms became like a meteor, while the other was grew similar to a hammer.

"Cross Chop!" Machamp commanded. It took both of his arms to block the initial Meteor Mash, but there was no way he could have blocked the Hammer Arm, which was boosted by the Meteor Mash's secondary effect of raising attack. The attack was strong enough to send Machamp flying.

Machamp got up with a lot of difficulty. As he had suspected, Metagross was as overwhelming as ever. However, he would not give up, for the sake of Medicham and himself. He had no choice- he decided to try out a new combination "Dynamic Punch into Focus Blast!" He powered up all four of his hands with Dynamic Punch, and then used all four of them to charge up Focus Blast. The more hands you used to charge up Focus Blast, the more powerful it would be. With all four hands charged up with Dynamic Punch, the attack would be strong enough to knock out a battalion of Pokemon.

Metagross wouldn't give in that easily, however. "Hyper Beam!" He charged up the attack and fired just as Machamp fired his blast. It was actually more like a beam. Metagross's resistance was futile. The powerful blast split right through the Hyper Beam and gave Metagross a direct hit. It was surprising to everyone else when Metagross struggled to his feet. Machamp got ready to battle, despite his weariness. Then he was relieved when Metagross smashed his head against a rock wall and knocked itself out.

"Yes!" Abomasnow said.

"He won't be getting up for a while. We should leave while we still have the chance." Luxray suggested.

"Wait! We would like to help you!" Hitmonchan said.

"In that case, then do me a favor. Go to the Kingdom of Laxos, into the royal city. Once there, present the guards in front of the gate with my seal. Say that you are here to pledge your allegiance to Laxos. King Lucario and Queen Lopunny could use some help." Machamp said, handing a copy of his seal to them.

"What? Why can't we go with you?" Hitmontop asked.

"While I hate to say it, you would be a liability to us. The Kingdom of Laxos needs your help a lot more than we do." Infernape said.

"Also, you should bring Metagross back to the kingdom for questioning. I have a few Sleep Seeds you can use to knock him out every time he stirs. We have a lot more. Use them well." Luxray said.

"Thank you. We will do our best." Hitmonlee said. They picked up Metagross and began to move down the mountain with him above their heads, but still moving at a surprisingly quick speed. Team Valor watched them go, and continued their trek to the Kingdom of Zarton, the Forest of Clouds being their next destination.

Elsewhere, a Beedrill spying nearby informed Dusknoir of what happened, and he sputtered in outrage. "I can assure you, Team Valor. You will rue the day you even decided to come after your beloveds!" he roared.

**The Forest of Clouds is next. There, Staraptor will face a huge trial. Will he be able to overcome an old rival-turned-traitor?**

**Please review!**


	7. Journey Arc: Staraptor's Battle

**I am back! And with a new chapter! **

"The Forest of Clouds…" Infernape murmured.

"The map says that it's a place where the trees and forest floor are actually made of clouds, but somehow, it stays solid enough to walk on and step on. I don't know how that's really possible, but at least it's true to the name." Luxray said.

"I think I'll take whoever the boss is. I probably have the best chance of fighting in a place with a name like the Forest of Clouds." Staraptor suggested.

"Maybe, but I have an advantage over the sky. Abomasnow does too, but he already fought." Luxray replied.

"Guys, let's just decide when we actually see the boss, alright?" Drapion growled.

"By the way, have you guys noticed that we have been facing down tough Pokémon in every place we go?" Abomasnow asked.

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, it always took a combination to beat them. It didn't just take power, it took strategy. But what's your point?" Machamp asked.

"I don't think these were the places that Lady Gardevoir wanted us to go. They were too tough for the normal Pokémon. Besides, you said that Metagross was sent from the Kingdom of Zarton, right, Machamp?" Machamp nodded, and Abomasnow continued. "I don't think the map we're using is Gardevoir's. I think the Kingdom of Zarton switched the maps somehow and gave us a more dangerous path." Abomasnow said.

"Well, we're on this path right now, and it still leads to the kingdom, so we might as well continue. Although, now that I think about it, why would Dusknoir take us to the kingdom when he could just mislead us?" Luxray asked.

"I don't know, but we should probably focus on saving Team Majesta first. It's not exactly polite to keep a lady waiting, especially if you and that lady love each other." Infernape said with a short laugh.

_Meanwhile…_

Dusknoir burst into the room that Team Majesta was staying in. Lopunny screamed and dropped the glass she was drinking from, Ninetales looked up in surprise, Swellow started panicking inwardly, Medicham clenched her fists, Kricketune was half frozen, and Roserade glared viciously at the Ghost-Type.

"What do you want, Dusknoir?" Lopunny asked after regaining her composure.

"Since there is obviously nothing you can do to stop me, I might as well tell you my plan. Laxos is going to be taken over, by none other than myself! You can just pray that your beloved mother and father will survive, princess!" Dusknoir taunted.

"No way. I can assure you, Team Valor will stop you." Ninetales growled.

"Oh, please. How can they stop me when they are all the way over here trying to save you. They are only heading to the Forest of Clouds as we speak! And I have prepared a special surprise for Staraptor there!" Dusknoir laughed.

"What? What did you do?" Swellow asked, thinking of her lover.

"There's only one Pokémon who could get in the way of your romance. And I have gained his alliance and sent him to the Forest of Clouds. I can tell you one thing about him, though. He no longer cares about you. He just wants Staraptor's blood on his wings!" Dusknoir said.

Swellow's eyes widened. Everyone else looked at her. There was only one Pokémon like that, and they all knew it.

"Now, I am on my way to Laxos. I will leave you with the best of my Weavile and Sableye guards, so do not even think about trying anything." Dusknoir said. Then he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Team Majesta gained big grins on their faces. "Is he really that stupid?" Roserade asked.

"He must be really underestimating us. Team Valor isn't the only one who's been practicing combinations." Medicham said with a grin.

Just then, a Weavile and a Sableye walked into the room and closed the door. "We are the captains of our squads. Remember, don't try…" They never got a chance to finish.

"Quick Attack into Jump Kick into Dizzy Punch!" Lopunny yelled. She used Quick Attack to boost her speed, jumped into a Jump Kick that allowed her to kick away from Weavile within contact of him and cause pain as an added bonus, and finally finish him with a diving Dizzy Punch. She landed gracefully on her feet.

"Fire Blast into Flamethrower!" Ninetales cried. The Sableye was caught off guard as Ninetales launched a ring of flames that turned into a star of flames and then boost its power with Flamethrower. To put it bluntly, Sableye went down.

"Awww, you two didn't leave us anything to fight." Kricketune complained.

"Does it really matter? We just have to get out of here." Roserade said.

"Not a chance!" a voice cried. Team Majesta looked up to see an army of Sableye and Weavile crowd the now-open doorway.

"Oh, good, this should be fun." Medicham said, cracking her knuckles.

"Team Valor is definitely not the only top Laxos fighting force." Lopunny giggled. The Sableye and Weavile looked around in fear for the sight of another fighting force equal to Team Valor.

"They really are stupid, aren't they?" Swellow sighed.

"Definitely, Swellow. Definitely." Ninetales agreed. Team Majesta nodded and whirled into battle.

_Back with Team Valor…_

The Forest of Clouds was indeed a strange place. As Luxray said, it was actually made of clouds solid enough to touch and stand on.

"This is not what I imagined the Forest of Clouds to look like." Infernape commented.

"Well, what do you expect? I said that it was made out of clouds, didn't I?" Luxray growled.

"Guys, quiet. Looks like we got another weakling to tackle." Staraptor said. It was nothing but a mere Murkrow, which Staraptor took out with one Aerial Ace.

"Please, spare me! I was only following orders!" Murkrow pleaded.

"That's what they all say. But do tell, who are you following orders from?" Abomasnow asked.

"The Big Boss. He can command a fleet of Murkrow like nothing. Whenever we hear his call, we are drawn to his location easily. He has ruled us for a long time." Murkrow said.

"Hmph, you really are pathetic. Just tell us where he is, and then stay out of our way." Drapion said.

"T-the back of the forest, where that big tree is!" Murkrow said, pointing.

"Good. Now don't try anything." Machamp warned. Team Valor started to leave, but once they had gone a considerable distance, the Murkrow shot up.

"Wing Attack!" he screeched, flying in with his wings ready to strike. Unfortunately, Drapion, who was in the back, extended his tail to its full length, powered up Poison Jab, and struck with all the accuracy of a well-trained assassin. He instantly defeated the Murkrow without even looking back once.

Another Murkrow who was flying above watched, sweatdropped when he saw what Drapion did, and flew away quickly to warn his leader, not wishing the same fate on himself.

Unfortunately, he had been noticed by Staraptor's keen eye. "Guys, another Murkrow just flew off. I'm going to follow it, and maybe see whom their leader is. Just follow me on the ground." Staraptor said. At a short nod from Infernape, Staraptor took off and silently trailed the Murkrow.

Staraptor followed the Murkrow to the large tree, where he could see the exact Pokemon that he thought would never see again. It was his romantic rival, the other Pokemon who had competed for Swellow's affections. It was Honchkrow. He silently used Aerial Ace to sneak some distance behind Honchkrow and waited until the Murkrow flew off.

"So, Staraptor and his pals are here. Lord Dusknoir will be proud of me for taking down those fools. I will finally get my revenge for what that bastard did to me." Staraptor heard Honchkrow say after the Murkrow had finished his report and left.

Staraptor made his move. "And you are still horrible at sensing danger, even after all this time." he taunted.

Honchkrow whirled around. "Dark Pulse!" he shouted. The powerful attack was launched.

"Steel Wing!" Staraptor used the attack and spun, whacking away his opponent's attack with the hard-as-steel wings.

"That's all you've learned over the years? You really are more pathetic than I remember!" Staraptor laughed.

"You shouldn't be talking, Staraptor. I have not even shown the full extent of my abilities." Honchkrow said confidently.

"You're not the only one who's been training, Honchkrow. I can assure you, I am a lot more powerful than when I was a Staravia." Staraptor said.

"Bring it!" Honchkrow shouted, and they whirled at each other.

Below, the rest of Team Valor had just shown up. "Is that Honchkrow?" Luxray asked.

"Never thought he would be here." Machamp said.

"Especially after what he almost did to Swellow. Staraptor barely stopped him before." Drapion said grimly. Infernape nodded gravely, imagining the details that Staraptor had given Team Valor on the events that happened that day…

_Flashback…_

_H-honchkrow, what's the matter with you?" Swellow, asked._

"_Shut up! I only want us to have a little fun!" Honchkrow said with a sneer. _

"_Aerial Ace__!" Swellow cried, trying to defend herself. It was a good attempt, too, for Honchkrow was actually pushed back a few yards. However, it didn't keep him from retaliating. _

"_Sky Attack!" Honchkrow commanded, not holding back. Swellow was near fainting after being hit by the attack, an easy target for Honchkrow. Just when he was about to close in on her, he heard a voice cry out._

"_Steel Wing!" It was Staraptor, who was only Staravia back then. He struck with the attack, and stunned Honchkrow for a bit. _

"_This doesn't concern you, Staravia. Why do you even bother having a girly name like that anyway?" Honchkrow asked when he regained his senses._

"_It is my name! And for your information, this does concern me! Why are you abusing your girlfriend, who trusted you! I am her most trusted friend, and even as I watched you two together, I could tell she never trusted you as much as she did me!" Staravia screeched in anger._

"_What do you know? My relationships are is my business and my business alone! What is she to you, anyway? I own her! I can do whatever I wish with her!" Honchkrow declared._

"_YOU __**OWN**__ HER? HOW DARE YOU!" Staravia screeched. Swellow, who was watching, stiffened. She had never seen Staravia so angry. _

"_You're going down, bastard!" Honchkrow screeched in return. They both flew at each other furiously with a whirl of feathers. Despite Staravia's better skills, Honchkrow had the upper hand due to his size, and he was able to cause Staravia to wear out._

"_You're pathetic! Is this what Team Valor's training amounted to? Sky Attack!" Honchkrow laughed, using the final attack._

_Staravia was nearly unable to move. He started to have doubts. Then they were all pushed away by Swellow's voice. "Staravia! You can do it, I know you can! Do it for me!" That, combined with the memory of the swear he had made a few years ago to protect Swellow, was far more than enough to motivate him. _

"_Aerial Ace into Brave Bird!" Honchkrow's eyes widened when Staravia used Aerial Ace to dodge his Sky Attack and then loop into a Brave Bird that was powerful enough to finish him._

"_Swellow__…are you all right?" Staravia asked in concern when Honchkrow went down. _

"_I'm fine…thank for putting yourself in danger because of me." Swellow said softly._

"_For you, I would do a lot of things. That's what friends are for, right? Now, I better take you back to the palace. My Spearow squad will take care of this scum." Staravia said. _

_As they walked back to the palace, Swellow couldn't help thinking, _"Just a friend…but why do I feel like there's something more between us when we look at each other?"

_End Flashback_

"Now let's see if Staraptor can do it again." Infernape said. The battle between these two longtime enemies was really heating up.

"Fly into Aerial Ace into Brave Bird!" Staraptor cried. He tried the combination that would score him an easy victory with it struck. However, Honchkrow then used the same combination, substituting Brave Bird with Sky Attack .

"Dark Pulse!" Honchkrow commanded. Staraptor was able to dodge all the Dark Pulses he launched except for the last one, which got him directly on the back, blinding his senses with pain. Staraptor was now basically on a collision course with the ground. It would be disastrous if he hit. However, there was one more thing he could try.

"Steel Wing!" This allowed him to spread his wings to give him more leverage. On the downside, it also made him heavier, but he had no choice. As the ground flew up to meet him, Staraptor tipped to the side, the Steel Wing cutting into the cloudy ground. He then looped upward and behind Honchkrow, the Brave Bird still in effect.

"What? Impossible!" Honchkrow protested. He then took a direct hit with the ground, and Staraptor crashed him even deeper into it. There was absolutely no way Honchkrow could have survived that attack.

"You're done, Honchkrow." Staraptor said when he walked out of the dust.

"You finally got your revenge, eh, Staraptor?" Machamp said, giving him a hearty pat on the back.

"My revenge was realized the first time. It was just necessary to fight him again." Staraptor replied.

"Thunderous Plains is next. We all know who will be battling there." Luxray said grimly.

Team Valor nodded. A place called Thunderous Plains would be obvious for an Electric-Type like Luxray. Infernape led, as usual, and they began their trek to Thunderous Plains.

_Meanwhile, with Team Majesta…_

"Well, that was unbelievably easy." Medicham said.

"Yes. Those Weavile and Sableye are Dusknoir's best? What a joke." Lopunny laughed.

Before they knocked out the last Weavile, he gave them directions on the route that Dusknoir had led Team Valor to take. Now, they were on the way to Eruption Crater, where hopefully, they will meet Team Valor and all of them will get home as soon as they could to help the king and queen save Laxos.

**Alright, it looks like Team Majesta are on the move. But Eruption Crater and Thunderous Plains are their destinations. Will Team Majesta be able to beat the challenge that waits for them at Eruption Crater? If they don't, will Team Valor be able to save them after getting through Thunderous Plains? If you want to find out, please review.**

**Oh, and if you look back at the other chapters, you will see that I changed all of mentions of Togekiss to Swellow because I think that a Swellow would be a better mate for a Staraptor than a Togekiss for a few reasons. One is that Swellow is actually a bird, and the other is that Swellow is actually smaller than Staraptor, unlike Togekiss, who is actually bigger than Staraptor. If you don't like the change, then too bad, because I do not want to change it.**


	8. Journey Arc: Luxray's Mastery

**This time, Luxray is going to meet another rival! Luckily, he's a lot nicer than Honchkrow!**

"The Thunderous Plains…" Luxray murmured. Infernape looked at him.

"Something wrong, Luxray?" Infernape asked.

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about how close we are to the Kingdom of Zarton. What if something goes horribly wrong?" Luxray asked.

"Nothing will go wrong. I'm sure of it." Drapion said with conviction.

"We have to keep moving. Team Majesta is counting on us, as well as the king and queen." Machamp said.

They pushed on until they reached a yellow plain. At best, these plains were pretty desolate, and it was difficult to imagine any life living on them. However, there was a continuous boom of thunder, and even before that, there was the high streak of lightning.

"There's no mistaking it. These are the Thunderous Plains." Staraptor said grimly.

"This could take a while to transverse." Abomasnow observed.

"It doesn't matter. Right now we have to push through these plains with all speed." Infernape said. Team Valor nodded and they ran straight through the plains, except for Staraptor, who flew barely an inch above them.

_Meanwhile…_

Dusknoir was now looking over at the main city of Laxos. Behind him, his six most powerful knights were standing along with their armies. Magmortar commanded a troop of Houndoom. Electivire stood supreme with a group of Jolteon. Rhyperior and his Rampardos battalion added brute strength to Zarton's army. Yanmega and his Beedrill squad doubled in aerial attacks as well as reconnaissance. Ursaring and his Crawdaunt squad could fight with the best. Tangrowth and his Ludicolo group used their weight to wrestle down any opponent.

"Lord Dusknoir, when shall we start the assault?" Electivire asked.

"Soon. We will have to wait until Aerodactyl returns with King Lucario and Queen Lopunny's answer. In the meantime, we sit here." Dusknoir replied.

"We will not have to wait long. I see him returning right now." Yanmega said.

Aerodactyl was indeed returning. He landed on his knees in front of Dusknoir. "My Lord, the king and queen have absolutely no plans about surrendering to us. As a matter of fact, the king told me to go throw myself in a lake!" he squawked indignantly,

"So they're actually going to try to oppose us. Excellent. I was hoping they would do that- it's more fun if they put up a fight. We will wait a few more days to lower their guard. Then we will strike with all our might!" Dusknoir laughed.

_Back with Team Valor…_

It was easy to spot the approaching Pokémon. Team Valor could see for miles around with the emptiness of Thunderous Plains. Luxray and Staraptor saw the Pokémon first, due to their keen eyes, and they alerted the others, causing Team Valor to stop and wait, preparing for battle if necessary. The Pokémon did not keep them waiting long. It was very fast.

"Manectric? Is that you?" Luxray laughed. Manectric was an old friend of Team Valor and Luxray's major rival, not because they both wanted Ninetales's love but because their electric skills were equal. Because of his skills, Manectric was sent a few years ago to attack the kingdom of Zarton by land as Walrein did by sea. He decided to go it alone, however, much to the surprise of King Lucario and Queen Lopunny. A few months after he was sent, he cut off all contact, and no one had heard from him since, until now.

"Well met, Team Valor. Listen, I need your help." Manectric said.

"Is there something wrong, Manectric?" Staraptor asked.

Manectric began to tell his story. "Yeah. You guys remember how I wanted to go alone to fight the Kingdom of Zarton? Well, I met a companion along the way. Her name is Absol. I found her taking on this Pokémon from the Kingdom of Zarton. His name was Ampharos. She held her own, but Ampharos was really strong, so I had to help her finish the job. Then she told me how Ampharos was taking over Thunderous Plains, her home, and so I decided to help her protect it. And I did, for a few years."

"So that's why you've cut off contact with the Kingdom of Laxos." Machamp realized.

"Yep. Then Absol and I fell in love, and we lived happily together for a few years, despite all the trouble. It was too good to last, though. Ampharos came back, and he was so much stronger than before. Both of us were overpowered, and Absol was captured." Manectric continued.

"So, you want us to help you save her?" Drapion asked.

"Will you?" Manectric replied.

"Sure. Where is Ampharos's hideout?" Infernape asked.

"In the direction where I came from. It's also where the Thunderous Plains ends Apparently, Ampharos is too afraid to go in deeper." Manectric said with amusement.

"Excellent." Abomasnow rumbled. They ran in the direction that Manectric pointed them too, with Manectric following. Along the way, Luxray explained to Manectric the current situation, not leaving out the romance between Team Valor and Team Majesta. After that, Manectric promised to head straight back to the Kingdom of Laxos if Absol agreed.

With all the speed that they were moving at, it didn't take all that long to find Ampharos's hideout. It was merely a bunch of rocks hiding an entrance to a cave. When Team valor got there, they saw Ampharos himself standing on the roof of this rock structure with his arms crossed.

"Manectric. I see you have brought some friends. Are you attempting another futile rescue of your beloved?" Ampharos asked with a smug smile.

Luckily, Team Valor had a plan. Drapion and Manectric were to go in and find and rescue Absol. Meanwhile, Luxray would be battling Ampharos to distract him.

"If you want another battle, you will get another one." Ampharos continued.

"It's not him you will be battling, but me." Luxray growled, stepping forward.

"And you are?" Ampharos inquired.

"Luxray of Team Valor. I do not need to know nay more about you other than the fact that you are Ampharos and that you serve the Kingdom of Zarton." Luxray said smoothly.

"Team Valor? Interesting. Lord Dusknoir will be pleased with me after I defeat and capture you. I have heard that your style is one-on–one. If that is the case, then it should not be much of a challenge defeating you." Ampharos said.

"With someone as weak as you, I feel exactly the same way." Luxray said.

"Really? Then you should have no trouble dodging this. Signal Beam!" Ampharos commanded. A rainbow colored beam was fired out of the gem on Ampharos's head. Luxray dodged it with ease.

"Are you really that slow? Maybe I should hold back a lot more than I intended. Crunch!" Although Luxray was only the fourth-fastest out of the Pokémon in Team Valor, he could easily dodge the attack, especially considering Ampharos's speed. He then bit down on Ampharos's arm, and jumped away.

When he turned around, Luxray was surprised to see the nice-sized crater that appeared due to the Signal Beam. "You really are strong. I guess Manectric wasn't kidding about your power." Luxray growled.

"Your strength is definitely fitting for someone from Team Valor. I guess I really shouldn't have held back! Fire Punch! Thunder Punch!" Ampharos commanded. The two attacks powered up his fists, and he charged forward.

"Thunderbolt!" Luxray commanded. Thunderbolt was learned to replace Swagger. It was powerful, but then Ampharos put his Thunder Punch forward and absorbed all the electricity into his electrified fist. Luxray's eyes widened, but he had no time to react as the Thunder Punch got him in the face, and then the Fire Punch punched him into the air.

Ampharos smirked. "Power Gem." The move was fired directly at Luxray and got him in the underside. He fell back down, not on his feet, but on his side.

Luxray struggled to his feet and growled. This was perhaps not such a good idea after all.

"Time to finish you. Double Thunder Punch!" Ampharos shouted, coating his fists with electricity. He ran towards Luxray.

Luxray had no choice. "Thunder!" Luxray aimed this attack towards the sky, where the clouds absorbed it. It came down just as Ampharos hit Luxray with both his fists. Ampharos looked up in surprise as the Thunder, powered up with some extra lightning, struck, not him, but Luxray! He jumped away immediately, as Luxray cried out in pain.

"Aaaaaaaaahhh!" Luxray cried. Ampharos looked on in satisfaction, believing that his opponent was destroying himself. Then he looked on in surprise as the Thunder did not dissipate, but started covering Luxray, and began to form the shape of spikes. Then he was in for a huge shock when Luxray snapped his eyes open and the electricity solidified.

It was Thunder Armor. This was not normal armor, however. Along with coating him with solid electricity, it also added spikes to Luxray's mane, claws, and tail, giving him a rather intimidating appearance. "Now," Luxray said, his voice echoing, "prepare yourself, Ampharos!"

Ampharos growled. "That technique will not help you! Signal Beam!" he shouted. The rainbow-colored beam didn't stand a chance against Luxray's own attack!

"Thunder!" he yelled. He launched the powerful electric-type attack with full fury. The sheer power of it was so overwhelming, the very air was charged with small electric bolts that stung the rest of Team Valor.

"Ow! Luxray, watch it!" Machamp complained, feeling his arms where the bolts struck.

Luxray's Thunder attack completely overwhelmed the Signal Beam. Ampharos, however, would not give up. He had to try one last futile move. "Thunder Punch!" He was hoping to absorb the electricity like before. What he didn't anticipate was that the electricity that Luxray was now using was worlds beyond what he had absorbed earlier. In other words, there was no way Ampharos stood against the attack. He was fried within two seconds.

Luxray dissipated his armor and collapsed with exhaustion. "Luxray!" Infernape cried He ran over to his friend, and gave him an Oran Berry to eat, which rejuvenated most of his energy.

"You all right, Luxray?" Staraptor asked.

"Uuuhhh…it looks like that Thunder Armor took more of a toll than I expected." Luxray groaned.

"Thunder Armor?" a voice gasped. It was Manectric, who ran over to Luxray with Drapion and a female Pokémon behind him. "You actually mastered that technique?" he cried.

"Yeah." Then he looked at the new Pokémon. "Are you Absol?" She nodded. Luxray whistled. "I can see why you're so captivated by her."

"Watch it." Manectric growled.

"I know. Anyway, have you made a decision?" Luxray asked.

"If you mean the one regarding Manectric returning to the Kingdom of Laxos, then yes. Both of us will be assisting you against the Kingdom of Zarton." Absol replied.

"Thank you. Now, we must be on our way. Here's my seal. Show it to the guards in front of the city gates and they'll let you in." Luxray promised.

"Thank you, but my own seal should be more than enough. I'll accept your seal, anyway, in case it doesn't work." Manectric said.

"Enough with the talk, you should be getting a move on already!" Machamp said.

"Sorry. It was great to see you though." Manectric said.

"Likewise." Luxray agreed. Manectric and Absol looked at each other and sped off in the direction of Laxos.

"With their speed, it shouldn't take long for them to get there." Infernape said.

"Let's go. Eruption Crater is the last destination. Infernape, it's your turn to battle." Luxray said.

"I know. And then we'll have to go to the kingdom of Zarton. We will find Team Majesta there. Let's keep moving." Drapion said. Team Valor nodded and moved on.

"_Hang on, Lopunny. I'm almost there!"_ Infernape thought.

**Team Valor will definitely get a huge surprise at Eruption Crater! Don't worry, Infernape will still get to battle, but he will have to battle the strongest boss! Fitting, don't you think?**

**Anyway, please review, and sorry for making you wait so long. **


	9. Journey Arc: Infernape's Blaze

**It's time for the final stretch of Team Valor's-Eruption Cave. Luckily, this battle is far from over!**

Team Valor and Team Majesta were unknowingly headed in the same direction. They both had one goal-to meet the other team as soon as possible. However, they, specifically Infernape, would face the biggest challenge of the entire journey. The boss in Eruption Cave was by far the toughest. Mr. Mime, Alakazam, Metagross, Honchkrow, Ampharos- none of them even stood a chance against this certain boss.

However, Infernape and the rest of Team Valor were painfully oblivious to these hard facts as they trekked on. Eruption Crater was a small volcano, but it was big enough to see from a distance of one mile.

"So, there it is. The last destination to our journey. Eruption Crater." Drapion said.

"I will definitely have a disadvantage in a place like that." Abomasnow rumbled with a hint of fear. Then he quickly amended himself. "But still, I would do anything for Roserade."

"Good for you, Abomasnow. But can you back it up?" Machamp asked.

"You faced and defeated a boss Pokémon that was strong enough to kill your parents and had a slight advantage over you, just for the sake of Medicham. You think that Abomasnow wouldn't do the same for Roserade?" Luxray asked pointedly.

"Point taken, Luxray." Machamp replied.

Infernape smiled. It was just this kind of friendly bickering amongst his team that he enjoyed so much. It kept things interesting.

"Guys, stop. It's getting annoying. Besides, it's Infernape's turn to fight. No point in fighting over who's going to take down the boss." Staraptor said.

"We are not fighting over who's going to take down the boss. We are merely stating facts." Luxray retorted.

"Speaking of facts, Luxray, does the map say anything about Eruption Crater?" Infernape asked.

Luxray opened the map and stared at it while walking. "All that it says is that Eruption Crater is a very dangerous place and should be avoided by the weak."

Machamp groaned. "That's what it said for Corruption Cave, Mt. Dynamo, Forest of Clouds, and Thunderous Plains!"

"At least it's accurate. Except for the Wall of Ice, they were all pretty dangerous. Corruption Cave had a chance of being permanently taken over, Mt. Dynamo and Forest of Clouds had Pokémon that battled in groups, and Thunderous Plains had those storms." Drapion recalled.

Infernape chuckled. "But they were all beaten. And besides, we're almost to Eruption Crater, so we I think that we should rest for a little bit." He said.

Team Valor found a secluded spot and began to eat. They were almost out of certain types of berries, but there was still enough food for all of them. While eating, they took out their gifts for Team Majesta, and merely looked at them.

"Guys, we going to have to wait to give these gifts, so we should put them away before some thief tries to steal them." Abomasnow said.

Just then, a black shadow dropped down on Luxray. He stumbled due to the surprise attack, but stopped and gave the assailant a Thunderbolt. It was nothing but a Murkrow from the Forest of Clouds.

"A Murkrow? Disappointing. Discharge!" Luxray commanded. An electric bolt honed in on the Murkrow, and it also exposed other Murkrow trying to hide for another surprise attack.

After the Murkrow fled, Team Valor finished their meals and moved on to the entrance of Eruption Crater. Once there, Infernape cracked his knuckles, ready for the battle of his life. He began to build up his flames as well, preparing to release the power that he charged up. With the built-up power, he was able to charge the air with heat so much that Team Valor began sweating profusely.

"Infernape, can you lower the heat a bit? It's beginning to cause us to sweat." Drapion asked. Infernape did lower the heat just enough to stop his teammates' sweat, but he still had enough to cause his head fire to burn more brightly than normal.

"He's just wants to end the battle as quickly as possible. Can any of you really blame him?" Luxray defended his friend.

"I could blame him for the heat, but not the feelings." Machamp said. Infernape stopped abruptly. Luxray, who was walking behind him, collided with the supercharged monkey of heat and got himself quite a few burns. Luckily, the Rawst berries he ate earlier stopped the burns from doing any real damage.

"Hey, Infernape, why'd you stop?" Machamp asked.

"Well, remember when Abomasnow said we'd have to wait a little bit before we could give the gifts to Team Majesta?" Infernape asked without looking back. Everyone nodded. "Well…" Infernape trailed off and pointed downwards into a pit in front of which Infernape had stopped.

Team Valor stepped forward and they couldn't believe their eyes! There, Team Majesta was battling a Camerupt. The Camerupt was preparing an attack, but it looked like it was relatively fresh. Team Majesta had a few bruises.

Infernape leapt into action, using all his agility to whirl into the battle, despite Luxray's warning. As he flew down, he heard Camerupt yell, "Eruption!" and aim the volcanoes on its back at Team Majesta.

"Close Combat!" Infernape shouted. Upon hearing this, Team Majesta looked up at Infernape. Upon seeing him and the rest of Team Valor, Lopunny brightened, Ninetales gasped, Swellow smiled, Medicham grinned, Kricketune hummed happily, and Roserade waved. Infernape let loose a series of punches and kicks into Camerupt's side just as the Eruption was fired. The attack was veered off course with Infernape's interference, and hit the wall of the pit. It was also funny watching an average-sized orange monkey doing major damage to a huge cow/camel with volcanoes on its back.

With the final kick, Camerupt was pushed back, but remained standing. Infernape kicked off of his body and landed with a fist on the ground and a raised arm right in front of Team Majesta.

"Infernape!" Lopunny called. Infernape looked back and smiled in relief. Team Majesta all looked fine, aside from the bruises. Lopunny jumped forward and tackled Infernape with a hug, while Infernape calmly wrapped his arms around her and put his head on top of hers. The rest of Team Valor slid down to greet their own significant ones.

Ninetales pounced on Luxray and they licked each other's faces like no one else was there with them. Staraptor and Swellow had a little aerial dance above. Machamp and Medicham were hugging each other so tightly that they nearly ran out of breath. Drapion was gently holding a claw on Kricketune's shoulder and humming a song that she herself taught him. Abomasnow had lifted Roserade by her waist and spun her around, both of them laughing.

This romantic reunion was short-lived as Camerupt roared. "Hey! Just so you idiots know, I'm still here!" Infernape broke out of his hug and glared at Camerupt.

"Lopunny, stay back and join the others. This one is mine." Infernape growled. Lopunny nodded and ran to where the others were, just as Team Valor and Team Majesta began telling each other about their journeys.

"So, you're Infernape of Team Valor. They say that you're the leader, and the strongest out of all of them. I, Camerupt, will make you and your team pay for what you did to my colleagues! Mr. Mime, Alakazam, Metagross, Honchkrow, Ampharos- none of them are a match for me!" Camerupt bellowed.

"Oh, really? If you're so tough, then let's see what you can do!" Infernape challenged.

"Earth Power!" Camerupt roared. Numerous earth pillars began to rise out of the ground towards Infernape. Infernape leapt away before he could get hit. He knew that even one hit from Earth Power could be dangerous, even for him.

"Flare Blitz!" Infernape was coated in fire and he rushed forward with astonishing speed. Camerupt did not sit back, though.

"Eruption!" Camerupt commanded. He aimed his volcanoes at the charging Infernape and fired. Infernape dodged the attack and scored a direct hit. Despite this, Camerupt managed to get away with a burned bruise only.

"Lava Plume!" Camerupt stomped the ground and waves of lava spread out in a wide ring. Infernape jumped to dodge them, as did Team Valor and Team Majesta, who were also in the range of the attack. When Infernape landed, he got a small burn on his foot, but he ignored it.

"Flamethrower!" Infernape yelled. He fired the burst of flames from his mouth.

"Rock Slide!" Camerupt roared. An avalanche of rocks tumbled in front of Camerupt, blocking the Flamethrower. Camerupt, though, was not done. "Earth Power!" Infernape's eyes widened as a pillar of earth shot up from below him and got him in the stomach. He was flung into the air, and as he came down, another pillar shot him back up. This process continued a few times until Infernape was able to straighten himself in the air, leap off a pillar, and land on his feet, but not without major wounds.

"Close Combat into Flare Blitz into Flamethrower!" Infernape shouted. He used his far superior speed to break through the rocks and hit Camerupt with the onslaught of punches and kicks. With a kick-off, he dived back in with a Flare Blitz. Before he hit Camerupt, however, he launched a Flamethrower to further damage Camerupt. It hit Camerupt a second before Flare Blitz.

Infernape leapt back after the combination. When the dust form the combination cleared, Camerupt was breathing heavily. Infernape, however, was also panting due to the recoil effect of Flare Blitz.

Camerupt gave an evil grin. "It's time to finish this. Eruption!" For the third time, Camerupt aimed his volcanoes at Infernape and fired the deadly attack. To the spectators' horror, Infernape couldn't even get away, and it looked like it was over after a cloud of dust blew up as a result of the Eruption and nothing seemed to happen within the cloud for a few tense moments.

"Infernape!" Lopunny screamed. There was no response as the scream echoed.

Camerupt laughed. "It's over!" He then set his sights on the spectators and opened his mouth to call out an attack when a voice coming from the cloud of dust spoke out.

"Is that really what you think?" the voice said smugly. There was an echo to it. Camerupt turned his head back to the cloud of dust slowly as it all blew away due to a rush of energy.

When the Pokémon saw the form there, they gasped in shock. It was Infernape, completely coated in a fireball!

"That's Blaze! Infernape's ability has been activated!" Kricketune gasped.

"That's the same ability that he used to save Lopunny ever so long ago, isn't it?" Medicham laughed.

"Camerupt is going to get it now!" Machamp agreed.

"You can do it, Infernape!" Lopunny encouraged.

"Whether or not you have an ability, you still can't beat me! Eruption!" Camerupt roared.

"He really does like using Eruption, doesn't he?" Ninetales asked with a smile.

"It's not going to work. Infernape won't even need to dodge." Luxray predicted. He was right. As the attack flew towards Infernape, he stretched out a hand in front of him and stopped the Eruption with it.

"Flamethrower." He stated. The fire attack broke right through Eruption and scored a direct hit on Camerupt. The attack disoriented the cow/camel.

"Wait. How did Infernape do that?" Roserade asked.

"Yeah. Eruption is more powerful than Flamethrower, right?" Drapion asked.

"Actually, in this case, no." it was surprisingly Abomasnow who spoke up. "Eruption is at its strongest when the user is at its strongest. The weaker you are, the weaker Eruption is. Also, Infernape has Blaze, which almost doubles your fire attacks' power. It's no surprise that a Blaze-powered Flamethrower could break through an Eruption used by someone with barely any energy." he explained.

"How do you all know this, anyway?" Swellow asked.

Abomasnow shrugged. "I had to know my weaknesses, so I studied up on Fire-Type attacks."

"Touché." Staraptor said.

They turned their attention back to the battle. Infernape was using the final attack. He ran with all speed and leapt onto Camerupt's back. "Blast…Burn." he growled. He launched the vicious Fire-Type attack and finished Camerupt off. He then jumped off and Camerupt collapsed. The Blaze around Infernape dissipated and he began to sway.

Luckily, Staraptor reacted quickly enough, flew down, and grabbed Infernape, flying back up to set his leader down. There, Luxray gave him a Sitrus Berry to heal his wounds.

Infernape slowly opened his eyes and into the smiling face of Lopunny, who was now standing above him. "You did it, Infernape. You managed to save us, and beat Camerupt." she said. Infernape grinned, and stood back up.

"But, you have to hear this. It looks like all this was a distraction. The real threat is back in Laxos. It was all part of Dusknoir's plan. If we don't hurry, Laxos is in major trouble." Luxray warned.

**Not bad, if I do say so myself. **

**Don't worry, in the next chapter, they'll get back to Laxos sooner than expected, thanks to the help of an old friend! There's also going to be a lot of romance and a huge tragedy. Please read and review.  
**


	10. Endgame Arc: A Terrible Tragedy

**In this chapter, Team Valor and Team Majesta begin the return to the Kingdom of Laxos, thanks to the help of a few old allies. Of course, there is also a huge tragedy. **

"What are we going to do? We're far out here in the middle of nowhere, have basically no way of getting back to Laxos fast, and on the last of our supplies." Machamp said for about the fourth time.

"Machamp, stop stating the obvious. It's beginning to get very annoying." Drapion growled.

"Both of you stop it! We are getting nowhere fast with your stupid arguing!" Lopunny commanded.

The situation was beginning to get dangerous. After Team Majesta had told Team Valor about Dusknoir's plans, it was obvious to all of them that the entire kidnapping was a trap and they had to get back to Laxos as quickly as possible. Instead of going back the way they came, they were hoping to get to the Kingdom of Zarton, find the port, and catch a ship back to Laxos as soon as possible.

However, the port was blocked by a pack of Sharpedo, which had begun devastating the ships with their deadly teeth. Zarton's navy wasn't exactly known for its battle prowess, and it was merely luck that they were able to hold off Walrein's attack for so long. The Sharpedo were wild, and decided to finish the job. Unfortunately for Team Valor, their job was a trifle bit overdone, and most of the ships were completely impossible to repair, and the ones that could be repaired would take months to finish. In other words, Team Valor and Team Majesta was basically stranded in an enemy country, and it was quite surprising how no one really noticed them yet.

Infernape lay down on the bed of the inn room that they were in. As it was with all the inns in the famous countries, each bed had enough room for about three Pokémon. They were also comfortable and springy. As Infernape laid and began to relax, he heard the sound of beating wings. It was Swellow and Staraptor, who had gone out for a morning flight. They landed on the balcony, and they hurriedly beckoned the rest of the Pokémon over. Needless to say, the Pokémon rushed over.

"You will not believe what we just heard. A ship is on its way to the harbor as we speak. The Sharpedo are beginning to prepare for the attack on the ship. The slight problem is, the Zarton navy will not help them." Staraptor said.

"OK, so what does that have to do with us?" Medicham asked.

"I flew to look at the ship with all speed after Staraptor and I heard. That's when I saw something. It had the Laxos flag flying from the mast. After seeing this, I immediately flew back to where Staraptor was and we both came back to tell you all." Swellow explained.

"So, we should probably help whoever this is?" Luxray asked.

"Why shouldn't we?" Kricketune asked.

"Good point." Roserade said. In a unanimous and silent agreement, both teams raced out of the room. Infernape left the key on the front desk, and they ran as quickly as they could to the port. There, they witnessed an astonishing sight. It was true that the Sharpedo were attacking the ship, but they seemed to be getting beaten back by something. Luxray and Staraptor, with some strain, were able to see what it was.

"Guys, it's an army of Seaking!" Luxray said.

"What? If that's true, then-" Abomasnow trailed off. The ship pushed right through the Sharpedo with the Seaking beating them back and headed right for the two teams. As it neared, they could eventually see who was at the front, and they brightened considerably. It was Walrein!

"Aye! Team Valor! It looks like you managed to save your ladyloves!" Walrein laughed as he neared. Although the two teams were very well aware of what they felt for each other, a crimson blush crept onto their faces as Walrein said this. The blushes did not go unnoticed by Walrein, and he laughed. Then he threw down a rope ladder for the two teams to climb on. After they did so, Walrein immediately called for the driver to turn around and go right through the Sharpedo. The Sharpedo would not give up, however, and a few particularly athletic Sharpedo leapt up and began using Aqua Jet with incredible speed.

Luxray began to counter with Discharge when a Discharge from another source behind the teams struck all the Sharpedo, including the ones down below in the ocean. The two teams turned around in surprise to see Manectric, grinning and with stray electricity circulating around his body.

"It's good to see you, Team Valor. And hello to you, Team Majesta." Manectric greeted with a bow.

"Is that Manectric? You all told us that he went back to Laxos with his mate, Absol, after you encountered him in Thunderous Plains." Medicham said.

"He did. I have no idea what he's doing here." Luxray said.

"He's not the only old friend that you'll meet on this ship, Medicham." Another voice said. Machamp, recognizing the voice, turned around, and as he expected, but was still surprised to see, the Hitmon Brothers were standing a few feet away, fighting off Sharpedo that were attacking from their end. Somehow, they were still able to fight while looking behind them at Team Valor and waving at the same time.

"Huh? Who are they?" Medicham asked, confused.

Absol, who seemingly came out of nowhere, leapt in front of the Hitmon Brothers. "I'll take over. You can do your stupid introduction to them." she said.

"Stupid? How dare you!" the brothers cried indignantly. A vicious glare from Absol silenced all of them, and they meekly nodded. Absol began fighting with Night Slashes and Razor Winds, while the Hitmon Brothers began their introduction.

"Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee yelled.

"Hitmonchan!" Hitmonchan yelled.

"Hitmontop!" Hitmontop yelled.

"Together we are… the Hitmon Brothers!" all three yelled. Medicham looked at Machamp quizzically.

"Tyrogue Brothers?" she asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Same stupid introduction?" she pressed, earning a few anime-style falls form the Hitmon Brothers.

"Yeah." Machamp repeated. Then, all present, except for the Hitmon Brothers, burst out laughing, even Manectric and Absol, who were still fighting.

Unfortunately, Absol failed to see an exceptionally large Sharpedo come up behind her and prepare a Crunch. Kricketune, on the other hand, did. With a cry, she ran forward. "Fury Cutter!" she cried. The attack was super effective, and as Kricketune landed gracefully back on the deck, the Sharpedo, with a roar, fell back into the ocean.

Kricketune dropped into a crouch with a grunt of pain. Instantly, Drapion was at her side. "Is there something wrong?" he asked in concern. Kricketune shook her head, though, she was holding the arm she used to hit the Sharpedo with Fury Cutter. Drapion shook his head. "I should have known. You're a bad liar, you know that?" he said affectionately.

Luxray walked up to them with his medical kit. "It's nothing, Drapion. It's only Sharpedo's ability, Rough Skin. It causes damage when you connect physically with it. A quick bandage and she'll be fine." He said, applying the said tool.

"Lads, I hate to interrupt this reunion, but we have a slight problem." Walrein said. Everyone looked at him. "Look off the starboard side, I mean, the right side, of the ship." They did so, and found the entire hoard of Sharpedo preparing a full-charge, all-out Aqua Jet attack, no holds barred.

"Nothing Luxray and I can't handle." Manectric said confidently. With a nod, Luxray ordered everyone to clear away. Absol and Ninetales licked their respective boyfriends on the cheek before joining the others.

Simultaneously, the two mighty Electric-Type rivals began charging up ferocious electricity. The electric power connected, and with a roar, they shot a synchronized lightning bolt up to the sky, where lightning clouds had already begun to gather.

"THUNDER!" Luxray and Manectric roared. The wicked lightning bolt struck back down into the water. It was common knowledge that water conducted electricity, and the electricity traveled through the water at the speed of light and struck all the Sharpedo. The impact was made worse by the Aqua Jets, which coated the Sharpedo in water. Needless to say, a bunch of fainted and fried Sharpedo was floating in the water. Unfortunately, the Seaking soldiers that were not killed by the Sharpedo were also fried.

"Don't you guys think you overdid it a little?" Hitmonlee asked. Luxray and Manectric looked at the Sharpedo, then back at the others sheepishly.

"Whoops…" Luxray mumbled.

"Ah, well. Nothing to be worried about. My soldiers will be fine. Right now, we have to get you all back to Laxos. The situation is at its worst." Walrein said grimly. He ordered Hitmonlee to begin steering the ship.

"First of all, why don't we tell them how we met up in the first place?" Hitmonchan asked, as the ship began to move.

"Good idea. Who are you guys, anyway? Your introduction was stupid and it didn't help anyway." Ninetales said. Lopunny snickered. Machamp and Medicham quickly explained whom the Hitmon Brothers were, considering how they were the ones to know the Hitmon Brothers since early childhood.

"Anyway," Hitmontop said after Machamp and Medicham were done, "after Team Valor left us at Mt. Dynamo, we made our way to Laxos, where we were let in and were treated with honor. Metagross was put into the dungeon along with some other Pokémon called Mr. Mime. For a while, we lived with the citizens of Laxos in harmony, doing the duties that you couldn't do while you were away, Team Valor." Hitmontop said.

"But, it was too good to last. One day, that blasted Kingdom of Zarton ruler attacked." Hitmonchan growled. Team Valor and Team Majesta's eyes widened with the realization that they were too late to stop the attack.

"I assure you, we fought with all our might. Walrein did, too. But in the end, Laxos fell, and all your guards were put under the command of Team Valor's rivals- Magmortar, Electivire, Yanmega, Rhyperior, Ursaring, and Tangrowth, now known as Team Demonic. In the end, we had no choice but to abandon the kingdom and find you guys." Hitmonlee said with despair, while steering the ship.

"Walrein recognized me as I ran back to Laxos with Absol. He explained the situation, and we had no choice but to join up with them. Luckily, we were only up to Mt. Dynamo, so it didn't take all that long to get here and find you guys."

Lopunny had begun quivering when Hitmonlee said that they had to abandon the kingdom. "Wait… if Laxos has fallen…" she stammered.

"What happened to King Lucario, Queen Lopunny, Master Gallade, and Mistress Gardevoir?" Roserade demanded.

Manectric looked at them with high distress. "Well…you see…" He broke off, looking away from everyone else. Lopunny bounced up to him.

"Tell me, Manectric! Tell me!" she screeched, shaking him.

"I think you'd better come with me, Team Valor, Team Majesta." Walrein said, opening a door that led to the ship's lower levels. They complied, the males and females holding onto their respective significant others. Walrein led them down to a sealed room, which he unlocked with a key shaped like a crown.

Upon opening the door, Team Valor and Team Majesta discovered a horrendous sight.

Coffins. Four long, golden coffins, all richly adorned with flowers. When they were opened, Lopunny screamed out loud at the ones inside them. Team Valor and the rest of Team Majesta gasped. Two of them held King Lucario and Queen Lopunny, while the other two held Gallade and Gardevoir. They all had their hands crossed over their chests, and their faces held a peaceful expression.

Not one of their chests moved. Lopunny's face was ashen with grief. Walrein looked at her sadly. "I…wanted to give them a burial at sea, but…I wanted to wait until we met up with you guys. They died fighting Dusknoir and Team Demonic. Their last words were that when their daughter came home, she had to inherit the kingdom, with a chosen king. They meant for you and Infernape to take up those roles, Lopunny." Walrein murmured solemnly.

Infernape put a hand on Lopunny's shoulder, earning a grateful glance from her. "Thank you for waiting, Walrein. I'll be fine. Please, begin the burial." Lopunny said. Walrein nodded, and Machamp brought the coffins back up seeing how he was the only one strong enough to do so. Manectric, Absol, and the Hitmon Brothers looked up as the two teams and the navy general came back through the door, and solemnly joined them as Machamp threw the coffins into the sea.

After paying their respects, Manectric and Absol said that they would prepare dinner, both of them with a sad aura as they padded off. One by one, Team Valor and Team Majesta dispersed, Infernape and Lopunny being the last.

During dinner, the Pokémon were quiet. They ate slowly, and without a word. Walrein tried in vain to make friendly conversation, but Team Valor and Team Majesta were irresponsive. Once they were finished with dinner, the Pokémon headed straight to bed, without a word.

**I know that I promised both the romance and the tragedy in this chapter, but it got out of hand. The next chapter, which will be posted later today, or maybe tomorrow, will have the sweet, sweet romance.**

**And please review. The fact that I have not gotten any reviews for the last two chapters is very disappointing. **


	11. Endgame Arc: Romance After the Tragedy

**In the last chapter, Team Valor and Team Majesta were saved by Walrein, who had come to help them get back to Laxos. Now there's going to be the romance I promised. Again, I was hoping to put these two chapters together, but it was way too long.**

Infernape awoke to the sound of rustling. Opening his eyes, he saw Lopunny closing the door to the room that they had taken. Infernape got up, brought the ruby necklace he had bought for Lopunny and quietly crept past Luxray and Ninetales's room, Drapion and Kricketune's room, and Abomasnow and Roserade's room. Staraptor and Swellow preferred sleeping outside, where they could be lookouts, while Machamp and Medicham slept in sleeping bags in front of the undersea observatory, admiring the view it provided.

Infernape silently followed Lopunny, his feet barely making a sound. When he opened the door to the deck, Hitmonchan, who was steering the ship, raised an eyebrow when Infernape came out. Infernape put a finger to his lips, and Hitmonchan nodded to show that he would keep quiet, as Lopunny was standing in the front of the ship, gazing at the stars.

Infernape crept closer to her, trying to surprise her. Before he even got ten feet, Lopunny sighed.

"There is no point trying to sneak up on me, Infernape. I can still hear you." she said, without turning around.

"What the… oh, boy, there really is no way to sneak up on you." Infernape responded admiringly.

"Well, not exactly. Dusknoir did with his Shadow Sneak." Infernape detected a sad tone in Lopunny's voice. He walked up to her and put his arms around her waist, hugging her gently. She turned her face to look at him, and he could see that she was struggling to hold back tears.

Infernape shook his head. "Look, there's no shame in crying. You can't hold back the feelings, or it will just make you weak. You have to share your feelings with others. No one, no matter how strong, can cope with losing both their parents in one day. Not even me. Cry, Lopunny, just cry and let it all out." he encouraged.

That was enough to break Lopunny's walls. She broke down and buried her face into Infernape's chest, sobbing with all the intensity she had. Eventually, she quieted and slowed down into muffled sniffles as Infernape held her. During this time, Infernape had begun tearing up as well. The grief he had gained from losing his revered master, as well as the sight of his lover looking so fragile, finally cracked Infernape's walls, and he clenched his fist as he swore in his mind to destroy Dusknoir for what he had done.

Lopunny had stopped crying and she uncurled herself out of Infernape's arms. Infernape did not protest, instead merely gazed into her eyes, his heart full of love and a need to protect her.

"_She's beautiful. Her ears just curl around her like fine hair, and her body is such a lovely shade of brown. Her fur is so soft, it's like a pillow, and her eyes… oh, boy, I can't even describe them. So beautiful…" _He thought.

"Really?" he heard Lopunny say. "You think I'm beautiful?" With a jolt, he realized that he had spoken his words out loud, and that Lopunny was blushing.

"Well…uh…" Infernape stuttered, blushing as well. He never got to finish as Lopunny wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled his face down to hers, and kissed him. The feeling that they both got was electric, and they felt a current pass between them in that one kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her even closer to him, deepening the kiss.

It could have been an hour or a minute later, but they had to break apart for the need of air. Both of them were panting, but they still kept their arms around each other.

"Oh, Infernape, I love you so much, I can't even describe it." Lopunny sighed.

"I know, and… I have a little gift for you." Infernape said. Lopunny's eyes lit up as he reached into one of the pockets his fur made and brought out the ruby necklace. The fire he had made at Eruption Crater had only tempered it, made it more lustrous. It was shaped like a rose, and as he hung it onto Lopunny's neck, he inwardly marveled at how much it increased her beauty.

"Infernape… this is…beautiful!" Lopunny gasped, her hand caressing the shape of the finely crafted ruby rose.

"I know… just like you." He said. Then he regained his composure. "It's late. We better get back to bed." He took her hand and walked her back to the room, closing the door behind them.

Had they stayed out a bit longer, they would have seen Ninetales walking out of the room that she and Luxray shared. Had they stayed even longer after that, they would have seen Luxray come out of the same room and follow her.

_With Luxray and Ninetales…_

When Luxray awoke, he immediately noticed Ninetales walking out. It was still the middle of the night, so it was rather surprising to see her walking out at this time. Without hesitation, he got up from his hammock and followed her, bringing along the topaz locket as a gift to Ninetales. After all, this seemed like the best time.

Ninetales didn't have the same kind of hearing as Lopunny, so she couldn't detect the silently creeping Luxray behind her. As they walked up to the deck, the former being oblivious to the latter, both of them were reminiscing out the day's events.

Ninetales stepped up to the place where her leader sat. It was still a bit wet from the tears, but Ninetales paid it no heed and lay down, watching the stars just as her leader did.

Luxray stepped up to her silently. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.

Ninetales looked up in surprise, then relaxed once she saw it was Luxray. She shook her head. "Not at all, Luxray. Join me if you want." Luxray smiled and lay down beside her.

"Ninetales…what do you make of how our leaders are feeling?" Luxray asked.

She looked up in confusion. "What do you mean? It's obvious that they are both feeling grief after the deaths that they have suffered."

"I meant how they feel for each other. They obviously like each other, maybe even love each other." Luxray stated.

"And your point is?" she asked.

"I just wanted to ask how you thought about all this. I'm obviously quite happy for them. I believe that they were meant for each other, so to speak." Luxray said.

Ninetales laughed. "Well, you're not the only one. I, too, am pleased that they seem to have deep feelings for each other." Then she looked at him. "And what about us, Luxray?" she asked.

Luxray lost his composure then, and began blushing and stuttering unintelligibly. "Well…uh…"

Ninetales sighed. "I understand I you don't want to be with me, Luxray." She got up and turned away sadly.

Luxray stopped her before she could leave. "Wait. That's not what I meant. Your question took me by surprise. I do want to be with you. In fact, I have a little something for you." This caught Ninetales's attention. Her heart sped up as Luxray took out the topaz locket. Like the ruby necklace, the electricity that Luxray used as he kept it on him merely increased the topaz's luster. It went very well with Ninetales's pale yet shiny fur.

"Ninetales…what I feel for you is what our leaders feel for each other. This locket and the way I greeted you at Eruption Crater is proof of that. I understand if you don't return my feelings, but…" Luxray was stopped when Ninetales held up a paw.

Ninetales then took the opportunity to nuzzle up lovingly against Luxray. He nuzzled back, purring. "You fool. How could you believe that I didn't return your feelings?" she chided softly. Luxray smiled, wrapped his tail around hers, and slowly led her back to their room.

_With Staraptor and Swellow…_

Both of the earlier couples had watched by another one, high above on the crow's nest. Staraptor and Swellow had both admired how their leaders and the leaders' best friends had truly brought their feelings out. Both of them knew what they felt for each other, but like the ones before them, it was very difficult to admit those feelings to the other.

Staraptor took a quick glance at Swellow. She was lovely, with a finely shaped head and beautiful plumage. She was the female bird Pokémon that most male bird Pokémon would love to have as a mate. Some, like Honchkrow, would take advantage of her small size, but he had sworn to protect her from Pokémon like him.

What he did not realize was that Swellow had been trying to get his attention. Finally, she had to whack him lightly with her wings. That snapped him out of it.

"Staraptor! I've been trying to gain your attention for the past several moments! What is wrong with you?" she scolded.

"Sorry, Swellow. I…just had my mind on something." he apologized, holding a small blush back.

Swellow sighed and shook her head. "Really, Staraptor. You should know better than this. Anyway, I've trying to ask you something. Are you still being affected by our masters' deaths?" she asked.

"Of course I am. It hasn't even been a full day since I found out that they died. Losing Gallade and Gardevoir is like losing a second set of parents. And they could have been parents. You know as well as I do how devoted and loyal they were to each other." Staraptor stated.

"I know. They lived together, and died together, and yet they knew that they loved each other in life. In death they can be together forever." Swellow said. Staraptor nodded, but Swellow was not finished. "Staraptor…will out teams meet the same fate?"

Staraptor was rather confused. "What do you mean?"

"We have known each other since we were children. We trusted each other, and we should have been together just as Gallade and Gardevoir were. I didn't realize it until…" Swellow broke off.

"Until what?" Staraptor pressed.

"Until you saved me from Honchkrow. He was about to do something that I could not stop. I never should have trusted him. You, on the other hand, went into danger without hesitation just to save me, not just to save me from Honchkrow all those years ago, but now when I was kidnapped by Dusknoir. I guess what I'm trying to say is…I love you, Staraptor, not just because you saved many times, but because you are a true friend and companion." Swellow confessed. She turned away, afraid to face Staraptor's reaction.

Swellow was surprised when Staraptor wrapped his great wings around her. "Swellow, do you know why I swore to protect you? Back then, I didn't know the reason myself when I swore. It was only when I saw Honchkrow about to violate you that I knew. All I saw was that you looked so fragile, and that you needed someone to protect you. Swellow…I love you so much that I would give my life to save you." Staraptor declared.

He then walked over to where his pack was and drew out the aquamarine hairpin that he had brought. Wordlessly, he fit the pin into Swellow's comb. It gave her comb the appearance of a crown.

Swellow's eyes were shining. "Thank you, Staraptor." She nuzzled her head against her knight's chest.

"You're welcome, my dear Swellow."

_Meanwhile…_

Down in the undersea observatory, Machamp had just realized that Medicham was no longer sleeping in her bag. Looking around, he realized that Medicham was looking out, watching a pod of Wailmer. She turned her head at the sound of the rustling, and upon seeing Machamp awake, sighed.

"Sorry. I couldn't sleep very well." She said.

"Honestly, I'm not too surprised. We're all taking these deaths hard." Machamp answered.

"Can you imagine what it's like for Lopunny?" If we're taking it hard, imagine how she feels!" Medicham fretted.

"Don't worry about it. She has Infernape to comfort her. But enough about that, am I actually detecting a bit of SOFTNESS from you?" Machamp teased. Medicham barely ever showed her soft side.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, keeping her voice as loud as possible without waking anyone else up.

"Nothing, nothing." Machamp said. He joined her on the window and put an arm around her.

"By the way, what is it with the Hitmon Brothers? They're still that stupid?" she asked.

"Okay, you're avoiding something. What's wrong?" Machamp asked. Machamp had known Medicham since they were babies, even longer than he knew the rest of team Valor. In other words, he could read her like an open book.

Medicham, staring at her reflection in the window, sighed. "Machamp…do I look ugly to you?"

Machamp's eyes widened in anger, but he kept his cool. His fists were clenched as he asked, "Who…told…you…that?"

"No one. I just wanted to know." She answered.

"Medicham… let me show you something." Medicham looked at Machamp curiously as he walked purposefully to where his pack was, discreetly drew out the diamond ring that he had brought for her, and went to stand in front of her, hiding the ring behind his back.

"Medicham, look at this ring." He said, drawing it out. "I intended to by this ring merely as a gift for you, but now I have to use it to show you something. I just realized that this ring reminds me of you. Diamonds are the strongest gems, hiding power under beauty. It is strong, yet beautiful at the same time. Just…like…you." Medicham's eyes widened.

"Machamp…" she began, but was cut off as Machamp slipped the ring onto her finger and held the hand with the ring up before her eyes.

"Listen to me. I find you as strong and as beautiful as this diamond ring. It's what drew me to you in the first place. I don't care what other people say, to me, you are the most beautiful creature in this world of ours. Do you understand?" Machamp was showing a side of himself that he rarely showed, the side where he is so passionate about proving something that he would stop to no end to prove it.

"Oh, Machamp, you really didn't have to do that." Medicham said.

"Well, to prove my feelings for you, I have to do something. I love you, Medicham." Machamp said.

As they leaned in to kiss, Medicham murmured, "I love you, too."

Neither of them noticed a school of Luvdisc swim by the observatory window…

_Up in Drapion and Kricketune's room…_

The room where Drapion and Kricketune were staying in had a clear view of the stars. Needless to say, Kricketune was looking at the stars, hoping that they would give her easy sleep.

What she didn't know was that Drapion had woken up as well, and he was currently sneaking up on her left side. He sneered as he whispered, "Boo." in Kricketune's ear. She jumped slightly and glared at Drapion.

"Don't do that! It's annoying." Kricketune complained.

"I'm Team Valor's assassin. I use the dark." Drapion replied smugly.

Kricketune turned away and began humming a song. Her voice was like heaven to Drapion. It was simply beautiful, and its loveliness had not diminished over the past few years. If anything, it got better.

"What's that song?" he asked.

"It's called 'Heart's Dream.' I learned it when I was still a Kricketot. I wanted to use it when I had heartache for something. Like a gift, or a wish." Kricketune explained.

"Speaking of gifts, give me a moment." Drapion said. He disappeared into the dark. Kricketune heard some rustling, and when it stopped, Drapion did not come out.

"Drapion?" Kricketune asked. She then realized something and turned around, striking out with Fury Cutter. Her instincts were correct as she saw Drapion blocking the move with his X-Scissor.

"Nice. Looks like you figured out my trick." Drapion complimented.

Kricketune smiled. "It may work on other Pokémon, but I've known you for years. You always attack from different sides. It's what makes you so hard to read." She said. Then she noticed that Drapion had his tail down, which was unusual. "Drapion, why is your tail down?"

Drapion's tail whipped back up to show Kricketune the amethyst earrings he had brought for her. Kricketune's eyes widened. They were lustrous, and their purple glow matched Drapion's color. He looked embarrassed as he said, "I bought these for you to give when I found you. You said you wanted a gift, right? Well, here you are."

Kricketune accepted the earrings, slipping them onto her antennae. She admired herself in the mirror for a moment, then turned back to thank Drapion. The trouble was, Drapion wasn't there. "Thank you, my dear Drapion." She murmured. Kricketune then walked back into her hammock. The instant she laid down, she saw Drapion leaning over her, which made her squeak in surprise.

She felt Drapion's claw pat the top of her head, and then his mouth kissing the same spot. "Good night, my Heart's Dream." He whispered.

_With Abomasnow and Roserade…_

Abomasnow and Roserade had stayed up quite late in their room, just talking. They enjoyed each other's company immensely, discussing their journeys in greater detail.

"So, Medicham was really that worried about Machamp on Mt. Dynamo?" Abomasnow rumbled quietly.

"Yes. She really does like him, doesn't she?" Roserade said.

"I've seen personally what he's gone through for her. Metagross was one of the toughest bosses, but Machamp prevailed over him anyway. I could just barely sense the same feelings emanating from Staraptor and Infernape when they battled." Abomasnow replied.

"And what about you, Abomasnow? How did you feel when you fought Mr. Mime?" Roserade asked, laying a rosy hand on Abomasnow's knee.

"All I knew was that I had to save you, and that Mr. Mime was in my way. No one could describe how happy I was when we were reunited at Eruption Crater." Abomasnow said.

Roserade giggled. "You weren't the only one. I was surprised at your strength when you lifted me up and spun me around like it was nothing."

Abomasnow raised an eyebrow at her. "You do know how light you are, right? You're only around thirty pounds. Come to think of it, all of Team Majesta's members all weigh less than one hundred pounds, so you're all fairly light."

"Not funny, Abomasnow." Roserade said with a glare.

"I didn't mean for it to be. Anyway, Roserade, I wanted to give you a little something." Abomasnow opened his hand to reveal the lapis lazuli bracelet, which he then put on Roserade's red rosy hand. "Roserade, I wanted to prove my feelings for quite some time. I believe that this is the best time."

Roserade was silent as she looked at the bracelet, then back at Abomasnow, who looked rather anxious. Without warning, she pulled him down and kissed him, which caused him to go into a daze for a few moments, and then pass out.

Roserade smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, too, Abomasnow."

**Oh, man, even though I split the chapter in two, the romance part is still even longer than the tragedy! Oh, well.**

**Hope you enjoyed, and PLEASE REVIEW! I'd hate to think that my work sucked. **


	12. Endgame Arc: The Final Battle, Part 1

**It's time. Team Valor and Team Majesta are finally back home. However, it won't be that easy. There's still some Dusknoir ass to kick!**

Infernape and Lopunny looked on out on the bow of the ship, hand-in-hand. Beyond, they could both see that they were almost at the port of Laxos. Both were rather apprehensive about the battle that lay inevitably ahead, but had sworn to fight for the sake of the kingdom. It had been a few days since they had set sail, and now they were back.

"Infernape, Lopunny! Get some rest for the night. We shouldbe at the port of Laxos by dawn tomorrow, and we need the two great future rulers of Laxos at full strength." Walrein said. The two of them nodded and walked back to their room.

"Well, this is it." Infernape said.

"The final battle is nigh." Lopunny murmured.

Infernape turned to his lover, and without any warning, kissed her as hard and as passionately as he could. She kissed back, moaning a bit as she felt the warmth and comfort of being in his arms. To her disappointment, he pulled away after some time.

"Lopunny, I know that this seems a bit sudden, but…I might not get another chance. There's no guarantee that both of us will survive tomorrow. But if we do, I want to ask you this." He kneeled on one knee in front of her.

Lopunny's eyes widened, her heart started racing, and she started to hyperventilate. Why wouldn't she be, if Infernape was going where she thought he was going! _"He couldn't be…" _

With his head bowed, Infernape murmured, "My dearest Lopunny, if we survive this, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

Lopunny gasped. Her guess was true, and there was only one answer. "YES!" she screamed.

Infernape stood up, beaming, and at that moment, the door to the room burst open to reveal quite a large audience, namely, every passenger on the ship.

"You finally did it, eh, Infernape?" Luxray laughed.

"It took you long enough!" Machamp added.

"Guys, it's embarrassing." Infernape said with a blush.

"Oh, come on! Our leader is going to be married to one of his best friends since childhood! Not to mention that you're going to be king!" Drapion shouted.

"Being king won't be easy, but I'll take whatever it brings." Infernape vowed.

"Take care of her, Infernape. If you ever hurt her, all of Team Majesta will be out for your blood." Ninetales warned.

"I know, which is why he shouldn't hurt me!" Lopunny giggled.

"Aye, congratulations, you two! Even I could tell that you loved each other from the start!" Walrein said.

"It's not surprising. You've always been one to finish what you started." Manectric said.

"OK, everyone, I know that we all want to talk about the wedding and all that, but we should get through the battle first." Infernape said.

Everyone nodded solemnly, and left the room, leaving Infernape and Lopunny to discuss the wedding. "So, when do you want to have it?" Lopunny asked.

"As I said, maybe a few weeks after the battle, when Laxos has recovered." Infernape replied. "For now, we should get some rest. My thoughts are too clouded by the battle to think about the wedding." Lopunny nodded, and they climbed into their respective hammocks. Luckily, they were placed closely enough for the two new fiancées to hold hands together, so they were comforted by the other's hand and had good dreams.

_The next day…_

Infernape woke up to the sound of Luxray calling his name. "Infernape, wake up! You have to see this!" Next to Infernape, Lopunny was also stirring.

"What is it?" she asked groggily.

"Just follow me!" Luxray commanded. They got out of the hammocks and followed Luxray up to the deck. There, Luxray led them to the left side of the ship, where a huge crowd was shouting up at them.

"What are they saying? It's not exactly easy to make it out." Infernape asked.

"They're cheering for us, and asking us to stop the rule that Dusknoir has over them. I can also hear some of Team Valor's squads asking for their respective captains." Lopunny explained.

"Then we shouldn't disappoint them." Infernape reasoned. Luxray nodded, and all three stepped forward to join their teams in watching the crowd. Infernape stepped out after some quick glances from Medicham and Drapion, taking them as signals that he should address the crowd.

"Greetings, citizens of Laxos!" Infernape yelled as loud as he could. The crowd quieted at his voice.

"As you can see, Team Valor and Team Majesta have returned! I can promise you, with us here, Dusknoir will not live to see another day!" Infernape declared. He was answered by roaring cheers. "However, there is something else we must discuss. I want to you all to return home. Laxos's port may be on the outskirts of town, but when you return, go into your houses, lock the doors, bolt the windows, and do not come out until I or one of my comrades says so. My comrades include Walrein, The Hitmon Brothers, Manectric, and Absol, as well as Team Majesta and the rest of Team Valor. The battling will be intense, and I do not want any of you hurt. The squads that the members of Team Valor command are going to assist us in the battle, but once we defeat Team Demonic, return to your barracks. Team Valor and Team Majesta will handle Dusknoir. I know that you all grieve for King Lucario and Queen Lopunny, as well as Lord Gallade and Lady Gardevoir. They will be sorely missed. However, my comrades and I will be fighting on all of your behalf. Believe in us, and we will be victorious!" Infernape was met by dead silence, then a voice from the crowd spoke up.

"BELIEVE in you? Lord Infernape, we would give our lives to help you!" it spoke. It was joined by many agreements that intensified into cheers.

Lopunny then stepped forward. "There is also one more thing. If we survive this war, all of you should be aware that I am the heir to the throne. And as it is, I have already chosen a king to rule by my side." The crowd was tense, waiting for her to continue. Lopunny stole a glance at Infernape, and then at their friends behind them. They all nodded. "My husband…will be Infernape!" The cheers that rose were twice as loud as when Infernape addressed the crowd. It was clear that everyone loved that choice-except for the few very ambitious Pokémon that wanted to be king.

"Anyway, as I have said, everyone, return home. Primeape Squad, Mightyena Squad, Fearow Squad, Golem Squad, Seviper Squad, and Glalie Squad, stand by for further orders." Walrein tossed down a rope ladder as the regular citizens began to follow Infernape's orders. The two great Laxos fighting forces quickly climbed down so that Team Valor could personally address their groups.

"Alright, here's the plan. Lopunny, Infernape, lead the Primeape squad and march right through the center of town and to the castle. Ninetales and I will lead the Mightyena squad with you up to the center of town. Then, we'll split up and head to the castle through a side route on the left of you guys. Staraptor, Swellow, launch an aerial attack with the Fearow squad. Machamp, Medicham, you will do the same as Ninetales and I and lead the Golem squad through a side route on the right of Infernape and Lopunny. Drapion, Kricketune, go around the left side of the outskirts of town and sneak behind the castle with the Seviper squad, and launch a surprise attack from there. Abomasnow, Roserade, do the same as Drapion and Kricketune, only you guys will lead the Glalie squad around the right side of the outskirts of town. Walrein, Manectric, Absol, and the Hitmon Brothers will scout around town and stop any stray Kingdom of Zarton soldiers. Basically, we will be attacking from all sides. We all know the castle better than any of the Kingdom of Zarton members, so we should be able to catch them by surprise. If all goes well, we will be victorious." Luxray explained.

"Excellent. Shall we go?" Kricketune asked.

"Let's go then." Drapion said.

Infernape and Lopunny met up with the Primeape Squad and joined up with Luxray, Ninetales, Machamp, Medicham, and the Mightyena and Golem Squads. Staraptor and Swellow, along with the Fearow Squad, took to the air. Drapion, Kricketune, Abomasnow, Roserade, and the Seviper and Glalie Squads split up and began their trek around the city.

_Later…_

At the center of town, Infernape nodded at Luxray and Machamp, who nodded back and began leading their squads to two separate side routes to the left and right. Once they completely left, Infernape sighed. "Let's just hope they'll be safe."

"I wouldn't count on it." A familiar voice growled. Infernape and Lopunny looked ahead. There, they saw a suitably familiar and hostile face, surrounded by the sound of growls.

"Magmortar!" Lopunny gasped.

Magmortar sneered. "I never thought that you would get here so quickly. Even after a plan of the great Dusknoir's doing, you are still as persistent as last time we met. I heard that you were the one to defeat Camerupt. I have to admit, that is faintly impressive, but my power far surpasses his, and you barely beat him. What chance do you have against me and my Houndoom?" As he spoke, a huge pack of Houndoom stepped out of the shadows.

"Believe me, I've gotten stronger. I think I should have fun battling you." Infernape replied confidently. To Lopunny, he whispered, "Leave Magmortar to me. I want you to provide physical support to the Primeape. They have an advantage, but you know the legends about Houndoom's fire. You get burned by it, it hurts forever. So, I want you to help take care of those Houndoom. And by all means, you shouldn't hold back."

Lopunny grinned. "I haven't had a good fight since I took down some of Dusknoir's Weavile and Sableye guards. This will be a great way to prepare. Just be careful, alright? I don't want to see my fiancée die." Infernape nodded.

"Houndoom, attack!" Magmortar yelled. He and the Houndoom squad rushed forward.

"Primeape, attack!" Infernape yelled. Lopunny and the Primeape ran forward behind him to combat the assault. As they met, Infernape was right. The Primeape had an advantage, but the Houndoom were giving eternal burns here and there. No one could even touch Lopunny, much to Infernape's relief. She was gracefully dodging attacks here and there, and easily beating the Houndoom by rushing right through them with a flying Dizzy Punch, made even stronger by a burst of speed from Quick Attack. Those who were not being pushed back were attacking their own comrades due to their confusion.

"Fire Punch!" Magmortar yelled. He went in with two blazing fists.

"Flare Blitz!" Infernape called. He easily dodged both of the Fire Punches and hit Magmortar with a Flare Blitz. The attack did not stop after the hit, however, as Infernape flew behind Magmortar and into a wall. He was then able to rebound off the wall, and as Magmortar began to recover, Infernape hit him again. This process continued a few times until Magmortar used Smog and spun, whacking Infernape with poisonous ropes made of gas. Infernape was disoriented and stopped the Flare Blitz, being hit with poison.

"Ha! Let's see you fight in your weakened state!" Magmortar laughed.

"Flam-" Infernape began, but broke off coughing out purple smoke.

"Pathetic. Fire Blast!" The flaming star was fired out of Magmortar's cannon, and the fat Fire-Type satisfied himself in watching Infernape take a direct hit from the fiery attack. When the resulting smoke cleared, Infernape was on his knees, panting and coughing.

Magmortar sneered. "So this is the power of the leader of Team Valor?" He began walking slowly towards Infernape, two Thunderpunches ready. As he stood over Infernape, he didn't notice the smirk on Infernape's bowed head.

Magmortar pounded downward with both fists. At the last moment, Infernape slid under his legs and tripped him, causing him to lose his balance as he hit the ground where Infernape had been just seconds before. Infernape then used all his strength to lift up Magmortar and toss him into the air. As Magmortar went up, Infernape followed with a strong jump. "Close Combat!" The onslaught of kicks and punches in midair easily launched Magmortar against a wall and then onto the ground with a large thud.

"Blast Burn!" Infernape said as a finishing touch. The attack sent a huge wave of flames traveling along the ground towards Magmortar. As it traveled, Lopunny had just finished the last Houndoom, and she watched as the flames closed in on Magmortar and knocked him out.

She quickly ran to Infernape. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'll be fine." He replied after swallowing a Pecha Berry for the poison. Then he ordered, "Primeape, guard Magmortar, and make sure that no one gets to him. If he wakes up, use some Sleep Seeds to knock him out again." The Primeape nodded and surrounded Magmortar's fainted body, all ready to fight if anyone tried to get him. Meanwhile, Infernape and Lopunny moved on to the castle, hand-in-hand.

**OK, I'm sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. My new story, ****The Ability of a Master, ****is quite time-consuming. I'll update that story probably by Sunday, but here's the new chapter. **

**Next, we'll have Luxray and Staraptor kick some Zarton soldier butt!**


	13. Endgame Arc: The Final Battle, Part 2

**Below is Luxray and Staraptor's parts of the battle. Please enjoy and review.**

_Meanwhile…_

Luxray, Ninetales and the Mightyena Squad silently padded through side streets towards the castle. As they walked, all of them were alert to the point that it would be extremely difficult to get within twenty feet of them. However, as they walked through the town, Luxray realized that it was unnecessary. When they walked out of an alleyway, Electivire and his Jolteon squad were waiting for them.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Electivire said with a sneer.

"Get out of our way, Electivire, or it will not be pretty for you." Luxray replied.

"What makes you think you can stop me? You lost Swagger, and now all you have that works against me is Crunch. What happens when you are weakened?" Electivire asked.

Luxray turned to Ninetales. "How do you feel about a little preparation?" he whispered. Ninetales nodded with a grin. Luxray smiled back. "All right, then. Can you take on a swarm of Jolteon?"

"What do you take me for, Luxray? With me and the Mightyena Squad taking on the Jolteon, we'll be done before you even take down Electivire. Besides, you should be worrying about yourself. I know I am." Ninetales replied.

Luxray licked her on the cheek. "I'll be fine." He reassured. He turned back to Electivire, who seemed to be getting impatient. He gave the signal. "Mightyena, attack!" he roared. The pack of Mightyena swarmed forward with Ninetales at its head.

"Jolteon, leave no one spared!" Electivire yelled. The Jolteon surged forward, and were promptly stopped in their tracks by a Fire Blast from Ninetales. After this vicious attack, the Jolteon were disoriented, and it was easy for the Mightyena to attack. The Jolteon, however, weren't that easy to beat, and they began fighting back after a few minutes, although the loss of some of their comrades and the Mightyena's larger size still caused them to be losing the fight.

Satisfied with this result, Luxray turned back to Electivire, who was charging, albeit rather slowly. Luxray groaned. "You really are slow. Thunderbolt!" The Electric-Type attack was quickly absorbed by Electivire, and it added to his speed.

Electivire grinned. "Did you forget about my ability? Thunderpunch!" He charged forward with his two fists extended. Luxray dodged easily and fired another Thunderbolt from behind. It was also absorbed by Electivire. Luxray then fired a Thunder attack, but it still got absorbed. This process was repeated a few times.

"What are you doing? Are you giving up already?" Electivire asked cockily. He then charged with two more Thunderpunches at the ready.

"Thunderbolt!" Luxray yelled for about the tenth time. He also spun around while firing the Thunderbolt. Electivire ran right into the powerful spinning electricity, and punched, but Luxray spun away, just far enough so that he could make the Thunderpunches miss, but still hit Electivire a few times with the electrified ropes. Electivire's speed was now boosted to the point that he could run almost at the speed of sound.

"HA! This will be easier than I thought!" Electivire laughed. He powered up his Thunderpunches again, ready to hit Luxray with two electrified fists. The extra speed would give the two punches a powerful boost in attack. When it connected, Luxray would be knocked out, or so Electivire thought. When he charged at top speed, Luxray waited until he was around thirty feet away, then jumped high into the air. Electivire, not expecting this, looked up in surprise at Luxray. Unfortunately for him, he did not see a brick wall coming.

The extra boost in power from the speed backfired as Electivire collided with the wall as Luxray landed. The impact was so hard that Electivire broke a crater about two inches deep into the wall. That crater was made another half inch deeper as Luxray rammed Electivire hard into the wall. Luxray, thinking he was done, began to walk off, until he heard Electivire groan.

Luxray turned his head slowly to see Electivire struggling to pull himself out of the wall. "You know, I think I'll help you out of that wall. Crunch!" Luxray charged forward, bit down hard on Electivire's leg, dragged him out of the wall, and threw him hard against another wall, where Electivire slid slowly to the ground, already knocked out.

Luxray looked around. Ninetales and the Mightyena had just dispatched with the rest of the Jolteon. Worried for his lover's condition, Luxray ran towards them. Upon getting there, he gave Ninetales a once-over. "Are you all right?" he asked concernedly.

Ninetales ate a Cheri Berry and looked back at him. "Now I am. I only got a few scratches and some paralysis, but the Cheri Berry got rid of that. Luxray sighed in relief. Then he looked at the Mightyena.

"Guard Electivire, and swarm him if he tries to get up. Do whatever means necessary to keep anyone from getting to him." They nodded, and moved to guard Electivire's fallen body, while Luxray and Ninetales walked towards the castle, tails entwined.

_Up in the sky…_

Staraptor, Swellow, and the Fearow Squad all had keen eyesight. It was difficult to sneak up on them form the front. They also had fast reactions, so even a surprise attack from behind would have only adequate chance of succeeding.

This keen eyesight was how they were able to spot Yanmega and his Beedrill squad even from a distance. Besides, there was barely any cloud cover, and even an attack form the buildings far below with all speed would take time to execute. It would be pointless to hide.

"So, you finally showed up! It took you long enough!" Yanmega laughed.

"Does it really matter, Yanmega? You could have just used your speed to find us. Why would you be stupid enough to try to fight us head-on when you clearly have a disadvantage?" Staraptor asked.

"It may be a distraction. Dusknoir may be planning something when we show up at his castle." Swellow said.

"You'll never show up in the castle. I'm here to do what Dusknoir did to your beloved king and queen." Yanmega laughed. Staraptor stiffened.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR SAYING THAT!" he screeched. Swellow sighed and rubbed her wing down Staraptor's back to comfort him. Naturally, it worked.

"Aw, how sweet. You'll see be together for eternity…after I send you to oblivion! Attack!" The Beedrill swarmed forward, Poison Jabs ready.

"Fearow, retaliation movements!" Staraptor yelled. The Fearow, with Swellow at their head, all used Aerial Ace to duck under the Poison jabs and strike. Aerial Ace was what made Staraptor's squad so dangerous. With it, they could dodge any attack. However, if the opponent survived, the group was vulnerable to counterattack, which meant that the winner of a fight between the Fearow and another enemy al depended on the enemy's timing. Fortunately, the Beedrill's timing was not exactly the best due to the surprise attack.

Yanmega, on the other hand, gave Staraptor a run for his money. "Aerial Ace!" Staraptor commanded. He managed to hit Yanmega, but it wasn't that easy to make him faint.

"Sonicboom!" Yanmega commanded. His wings flapped with amazing speed and fired a series of shock waves. Staraptor, having rather weak defense against special attacks, was caught off guard and took a direct hit. He was able to regain control, and soared, enjoying his freedom for a moment before turning back to face his adversary. It was obvious that he had to use a different strategy. Luckily, he had planned a few other moves in case Aerial Ace failed.

Staraptor quickly swooped down and flew low, close to the ground. He also blew up some dust from the wind he made.

"Ha! Are we running away? This is nothing more than a waste of time!" Yanmega laughed. Then he began following Staraptor, not noticing the glance that Staraptor threw back at him and the grin that came along with it.

"Steel Wing." Staraptor whispered. He cut into the ground with the sword-like wings. Yanmega, however, did not see the point. All he could see was that the cutting was slowing Staraptor down, and that he was gaining on him.

"Slash!" Yanmega's claws grew, and he flew at top speed, stopping right above Staraptor, ready to deliver a powerful blow to Staraptor's back. What Yanmega didn't expect was for Staraptor, to whirl around so that he was facing Yanmega, also whipping his wing right out of the ground and throwing dust in Yanmega's face, temporarily stunning him and giving Staraptor the chance to make his move.

"Fly." He said. He then was wrapped in a ball of energy and with one great flap of his wings, soared high over Yanmega. When Yanmega's eyes cleared, he was surprised to see that Staraptor's presence had vanished.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" he roared.

"WHY DON'T YOU LOOK UP?" Staraptor shouted back. He then dived down immediately with all force, just as Yanmega looked up. Unfortunately for the insect, he got slammed in the face by a four-foot bird and then pushed deep into the ground. Needless to say, Yanmega was knocked out.

Staraptor flew back to observe the battle between the Fearow and the Beedrill. To his relief, Swellow seemed fine…until her wings folded and she began plummeting down to a building roof. Staraptor's eyes widened and he quickly swooped below her and caught his lover on his back. He then slowly lowered her to the roof, calling a Fearow to his side.

"Sorry, sir. She took a Poison Jab and got poisoned. We didn't have time to give her a Pecha Berry, and she made last stand in the battle. I think she's nearly knocked out, and the poison is at its worst." Staraptor took a sharp intake of breath, and he quickly reached into one of the pockets that his feathers made and took out a Sitrus Berry and Pecha Berry. Working as quickly as he could, he chewed them both together and then connected his beak to Swellow's, transferring the chewed-up berries into her mouth. While the process was distasteful, it was the fastest way to transfer both berry effects, and within a few minutes, Swellow regained her consciousness and wrapped her wings around Staraptor, deepening the makeshift kiss. They pulled away after a bit.

"Thank you, Staraptor." She said coyly.

His face reddened a bit. "It was nothing." To the Fearow, who were attempting to cover up some snickers, he said, "All right, guard Yanmega, and do not let anyone near him. Threaten him with Drill Pecks if he wakes up." The Fearow nodded and flew down to Yanmega, who was beginning to regain consciousness. He became silent after a Fearow put a needle-sharp Drill Peck next to his neck.

Staraptor, satisfied with the guard duty, turned to Swellow and nodded. She nodded back solemnly and took to the air along with Staraptor. With their wingtips touching, they flew off towards the castle.

**A bit shorter than my other chapters, but it's suitable enough. Anyway, please review. **


	14. Endgame Arc: The Final Battle, Part 3

**More. Than. One. Blasted. Month. That's how long I made you guys wait. I really am sorry for that. To make up for it, I'll try to update sooner. Here are the reasons I took so long.**

**I got lazy.**

**My Internet was down for about a week. **

**I've been stressing over updating my other story, **_**The Ability Of A Master,**_ **and wondering why no one reviews for that story, while I've been getting reviews for this one.**

**And then there was homework…**

**The list just goes on… **

**Anyway, please enjoy. Here's a refresher-Infernape, Lopunny, Luxray, Ninetales, Staraptor, and Swellow have defeated Magmortar and his Houndoom, Electivire and his Jolteon, and Yanmega and his Beedrill. Now it's time for Machamp, Medicham, Drapion, Kricketune, Abomasnow, and Roserade to take out Rhyperior and his Rampardos, Ursaring and his Crawdaunt, and Tangrowth and his Ludicolo. **

_With Machamp and Medicham…_

Machamp, Medicham, and the Golem Squad weren't known for their stealth skills. As such, they did not have any stealth skills. Their method of attack was upfront and ferocious. Brute strength was their way.

Luckily, their enemy wasn't known for his stealth skills either, and neither was his group. Nonetheless, Machamp, Medicham, and the Golem Squad were surprised when Rhyperior and his Rampardos emerged in front of them.

"Oh, good. I was starting to wonder when you would show up." Machamp said with a sneer.

"That makes two of us." Rhyperior replied. Behind him, the Rampardos were stomping the ground in anticipation.

"Machamp, take Rhyperior, I'll cover the Rampardos." Medicham said. The Golem Squad also opted to take on the Rampardos.

"Fine. However, Golem, I'm not sure if you'll get a chance. Rampardos have weak defense, so it would be simple for Medicham to take them out. Oh, well, just take what you can. Attack!" Machamp commanded.

At his command, Medicham surged forward, the Golem using Rollout behind her. Medicham picked up two Golem, much to their chagrin, and hurled them at the Rampardos. Two Rampardos used Zen Headbutt to knock the Golem away, but the move distracted them, and Medicham and the Golem began overwhelming the Rampardos.

However, the Rampardos had high attack power, and they used it well enough to turn the battle from a clear victory on the part of the Golem and Medicham to a large stalemate with casualties on both ends.

Meanwhile, Machamp and Rhyperior were wrestling. They both had great strength, but Machamp had advantage from being a fighting type. Rhyperior's Solid Rock ability, however, made it much harder to cause damage than last time.

"Cross Chop!" Machamp yelled. He ran forward with two glowing hands crossed in front of him.

"Rock Wrecker!" Rhyperior roared. He quickly fired small pebbles from his cannons on his palms that coalesced until Rhyperior was holding a humongous rock. He slammed it down onto Machamp's Cross Chop. Needless to say, the rock broke, but so did the Cross Chop. Fortunately, Rock Wrecker kept the opponent from moving for a bit after use, giving Machamp the distinct opportunity to attack.

"Focus Blast!" Machamp commanded. He charged up a powerful ball of energy and fired, hitting Rhyperior in the stomach. Rhyperior was only pushed back a few feet. Machamp growled. "You're pretty tough. A lot tougher than I remember."

"Did you expect anything else? Megahorn!" Rhyperior's horn glowed white and he charged forward with pure force.

"Dynamic Punch!" Machamp yelled. One fist flowed, and he punched Rhyperior just as the horn struck. The double attack caused both fighters to grunt in pain.

"That's it! Stone Edge into Rock Wrecker into Hammer Arm!" Rhyperior yelled. When he coalesced the pebbles, they were all sharp, resulting in a boulder with sharp spikes. Also, using Hammer Arm allowed Rhyperior to slam down with extra power. Machamp was unable to defend against this powerful attack, and it caused a lot of damage.

However, Rhyperior was still unable to attack after using this combination. Machamp used the full opportunity. "You showed me your combo. Now let me show you one of mine. Dynamic Punch into Focus Blast!" Using the same combo he used on Metagross, Machamp powered up all four fists and charged up Focus Blast with all of them. Thanks to the extra training he got from beating Metagross, the powerful beam was even stronger than when he used it against Metagross. The resulting energy blew up some dust thanks to its sheer power. This also earned the attention of Medicham, the Golem squad, and the Rampardos, the latter of which watched in horror as their great leader took a direct hit from the blast.

When the dust settled, everyone was surprised to see Rhyperior still standing! "Impossible!" Medicham yelled. The Rampardos cheered. They stopped when Rhyperior bashed himself in the head with Hammer Arm and knocked himself out. Then they started fleeing.

"Oh, no you don't! Psychic!" Medicham yelled. Gathering up her psychic energy, she stopped the Rampardos and pulled them all back into a wall, the sheer force of which knocked them all out.

"Golem! Guard this group. Use ropes and tie them up. If they try to get up, use them as bowling pins to practice your Rollout." Machamp commanded. The Golem broke into cheers. The great thing about their leader was that his training methods also let them have fun.

Machamp took Medicham's hand and raced off towards the castle with her.

_Around to the left and in the shadows…_

Drapion, Kricketune, and the Seviper Squad were using their espionage techniques. Actually, Kricketune was riding Drapion's back, but that was beside the point. They were known as the assassins of Laxos's army for a reason, and this was it.

However, Drapion's opponent had neither the desire nor the patience to deal with these techniques, as was noticed when he came under their path and began roaring.

"Drapion! I know you and your cowardly squad are here! Show yourself! I am in no mood to deal with these stupid techniques!" Ursaring roared.

"Show myself? How many pairs of eyes do you need?" Drapion joked loudly. He then dropped out of the tree that he was in.

"So you've finally shown up. I thought that the journey to Zarton would take a long time, much less getting back." Ursaring said.

"Well, I had some help. Anyway, let's get down to business. You can try stopping me if you want, but I can assure you that it won't work. Taking me on will leave you all the worse for wear." Drapion promised.

"You think you can defeat me? You can't do anything but use poison. If you ask me that's a cowardly way to fight. Besides, you're outnumbered. Your squad is nowhere in sight. Proves how loyal the Poison-Types are. " Ursaring replied.

"Really? I should show you how powerful the Poison-Types are. Kricketune will also show your Crawdaunt how deadly it can be to underestimate insects." Drapion warned. Kricketune nodded, her claws waving in anticipation.

"Then let's see if you can beat my pure strength! Crawdaunt, attack!" Ursaring yelled. They scuttled forward. Drapion grabbed Kricketune and backed up until he was right under the tree he jumped out of. Then, at his signal, he let Kricketune go and she joined the battle as the Seviper Squad lunged out from the tree. Surprised, the Crawdaunt paused and began attempting to beat off the new attackers, although they weren't exactly successful.

Ursaring, however, was spared for Drapion himself. However, he was still able to prepare an attack. "Slash!" Ursaring yelled. His claws extended and he charged forward.

"Poison Jab!" Drapion called. His tail was bathed in purple energy and he jabbed his tail forward to meet the claws. The two attacks were canceled out.

"X-Scissor!" Drapion called. He ran forward and slashed his claws across Ursaring's body. The bear was pushed back. "Sludge Bomb!" Drapion followed up by firing the deadly projectiles, which struck Ursaring easily, causing him to become poisoned.

Ursaring grinned. "Thank you! Focus Punch!" Ursaring gathered his energy and punched Drapion, sending him flying through a bramble patch and into a tree.

Drapion struggled to get up. "What …was that?" he managed to gasp out.

"That was Guts, my ability!" Then he screamed after the poison from Drapion caused a bit more damage. However, he was able to regain his composure. "If I have a status problem, my attack power is raised by fifty percent!"

Drapion growled. "X-Scissor!" he commanded. He ran forward with his claws at the ready.

"Hammer Arm!" With his extra power, Ursaring was able to overpower Drapion, easily breaking through the X-Scissor as causing major damage. Luckily, Ursaring was slowed down due to the Hammer Arm, and he still felt the effects of the poison.

"Hyper Beam!" Ursaring yelled. He had to finish this quickly. However, Drapion used his speed and rammed Ursaring, throwing him off balance and the Hyper Beam hit a rock, shattering it to bits. Ursaring had just given himself his own doom, as Hyper Beam rendered him immobile and completely at Drapion's mercy.

And Drapion had no mercy for his opponent. It was time to repay all the pain Ursaring had helped to cause. "Cross Poison! X-Scissor! Poison Jab into Sludge Bomb!" His left claw glowed with purple energy with the Cross Poison, his right claw glowed with white energy with the X-Scissor, and his tail glowed purple and started bubbling with the Poison Jab and Sludge Bomb. Drapion slashed with the Cross Poison, struck with the X-Scissor, and completely and utterly rendered Ursaring unable to battle after striking him with the Poison Jab and then releasing the Sludge Bombs into Ursaring's body. After one last powerful tail whack, Drapion left Ursaring for fainted as Kricketune had finished with the last Crawdaunt. To Drapion's relief, she looked just fine.

Drapion was about to run over to Kricketune when he heard groaning. Looking behind him, he saw Ursaring attempting a last stand when the poison Drapion had left in Ursaring's body unleashed its most devastating effect yet, this time leaving Ursaring down for good. Looking on in contempt, Drapion called the Seviper over.

"I have shown him how powerful poison can be. If he wakes up, give him a reminder." Drapion said. The Seviper nodded, slithering forward to guard Ursaring, while Kricketune jumped back onto Drapion's back and he ran towards the palace, muttering playfully about whether or not Kricketune was going to use him as a ride forever.

_Meanwhile…_

Abomasnow, Roserade, and the Glalie Squad were traveling around the right-side outskirts of Laxos, following the plan. However, as it was with their teammates, they were confronted by Abomasnow's rival in Team Demonic.

Tangrowth and his Ludicolo squad were all ready. When Abomasnow showed up, they were quite pleased, to say the least.

"We meet again. I've been craving for a rematch with you. I assure you, it will be much harder to defeat me this time." Tangrowth warned.

"When you say it will be much harder, do you mean it will take more than one hit to knock you out or just that you have actually have a strategy that your stupid Lord Dusknoir thought up? Because if you actually followed his plans, you're a lot more idiotic than I realized." Abomasnow rumbled.

"How dare you insult Lord Dusknoir!" Tangrowth yelled.

"How dare you kill King Lucario, Queen Lopunny, Master Gallade, and Mistress Gardevoir!" Abomasnow responded with just as much ferocity.

"I grow tired of this! The time for words is long gone! I should have attacked from the start!" Tangrowth shouted.

Abomasnow turned to Roserade. "Can you lead the Glalie into battle while I take care of Tangrowth?" he asked.

"Sure. Just be careful." Roserade answered. Abomasnow nodded.

"Attack!" The Ludicolo and Tangrowth surged forward as Roserade and the Glalie charged. Roserade and her Poison Jabs were easily taking down one Ludicolo after another, and the Glalie used their freezing skills to easily defeat the Ludicolo and their Water Guns. That changed when the Ludicolo started using Zen Headbutt and Hydro Pump. That, combined with the Glalie's counter-use of Blizzard and Gyro Ball, pretty much turned the battle into a stalemate, but thanks to Roserade, the good side was winning.

Meanwhile, Tangrowth had just jumped over the opposing side by using Power Whip to swing on a tree branch. As he maintained the Power whip to attack Abomasnow, Abomasnow prepared a counterattack.

"Ice Beam!" Abomasnow yelled. The move was partially blocked by Power Whip, but the brunt was taken by Tangrowth's stomach. While Abomasnow hated to use such an underhanded technique, he deemed it necessary.

"Sunny Day!" Abomasnow's eyes widened as Tangrowth fired a ball into the sky that turned into an artificial sun.

"_He wouldn't do that just for the sake of it. What is he planning?"_ Abomasnow wondered. He got his answer when Tangrowth moved inexplicably faster than before.

"Ancientpower!" Tangrowth commanded. The rocks fired at close range caused massive damage to Abomasnow, who was an Ice-Type.

"Blizzard!" Abomasnow yelled. He summoned a powerful snowstorm that Tangrowth took some damage from. Surprisingly, he was still up, while last time it took just one Blizzard to knock him out.

"Surprised? I told you I would be tougher! Solarbeam!" Since the sun was at full strength from Sunny Day, Solarbeam barely took any time to charge up, much to Abomasnow's expense.

After taking the Solarbeam, Abomasnow struggled to his feet. "It seems I've underestimated you." he said.

"You're weak. It's time to finish this! Power Whip!" Tangrowth yelled. Once again, his arms stretched out, and he hurled them both at Abomasnow. Abomasnow held out his left arm, and the Power Whips wrapped around the arm. Tangrowth grinned and used the vines to hurl himself into the air, planning to crush Abomasnow with his weight.

Tangrowth should have known better. He didn't hear Abomasnow whisper, "Wood Hammer into Ice Beam into Brick Break.", nor did he see Abomasnow sneakily freeze the Wood Hammer with Ice Beam. He might have been spared a very painful defeat if he did.

As Tangrowth got near, Abomasnow swiftly dragged him the rest of the distance and swiftly bashed him with the Frozen Wood Hammer Break combo, the same one he used to knock out Mr. Mime. Tangrowth then got the wind knocked out of him, and hung limp, Abomasnow holding him in the air by one arm. For good measure, Abomasnow slammed him down to the ground, cutting off all of Tangrowth's chance of surviving.

As Abomasnow stood over the fallen Tangrowth, Roserade and the Glalie Squad ran over to him.

"Sir, all of the Ludicolo are all either ice statues, frozen to the ground, or writhing in pain from Madam Roserade's poison. Some of our troops are down, but for the most part we're all right." One of the Glalie reported.

Abomasnow raised his eyebrows at Roserade, who grinned at him, and then looked back at the Glalie Squad. "Excellent. Guard the cretins until a member of our side shows up. Roserade and I have some business at the castle." Abomasnow ordered. The Glalie moved to guard the fallen enemy army, as Abomasnow and Roserade took each other's hands and headed to the castle.

_Some time later…_

"Where are they?" Infernape asked impatiently. He and Lopunny were the first ones to arrive at the castle.

"They'll be here. We just have to wait a bit longer." Lopunny answered patiently.

"What would "a bit longer" mean in that sentence?" Infernape asked.

"No time at all." Another voice called. Infernape and Lopunny looked to see Luxray and Ninetales running towards them. It was Luxray who had spoken.

"Sorry, we got stalled by Electivire." Ninetales added.

"We got attacked by Magmortar, and we still got here in time." Infernape countered.

"You too?" It was Staraptor, who shouted from above. He and Swellow swooped down to meet the others on the ground.

"Yanmega and his insects launched a counter-aerial attack. It was annoying, but nothing we couldn't handle." Swellow said.

"Well, it looks like we weren't the first to get here after all." Machamp said as he showed up with Medicham.

"You can blame Rhyperior for our tardiness." Medicham said.

"Hey, you guys are slow, so you have an excuse. I'm the fastest member of Team Valor and I still got here in fifth place!" Drapion's voice yelled. He leapt out from the forest with Kricketune.

"This guy was held back by Ursaring." Kricketune tapped Drapion's shoulder playfully, earning a playful glare from Drapion.

"Well, it looks like the gang's all here." Abomasnow rumbled.

"You don't have to worry about Tangrowth." Roserade giggled.

"So, Team Demonic has been stopped. I guess that's to be expected. They were all strong, but pretty stupid. Now it's time for the final test." Infernape said. Then, he glared up at the imposing castle above him and his teammates. The very castle that they all grew up in. There was nothing more than hatred in all their hearts as they thought of the one who was responsible for this in the first place.

"Dusknoir… you will pay." they all murmured. Team Valor and Team Majesta walked through the already open castle gates, ready for the final and ultimate battle.

**Very, very dramatic ending. Again, I deeply apologize for updating so late. I hate myself for doing this to you. Then again, it's probably because I have a huge sense of responsibility. **

**Anyway, please review. **


	15. Endgame Arc: The Final Battle, Part 4

**I am finally back from Florida! It was all right, but I prefer New York. Florida was too hot for my liking, and the fact that I had to stay out in that temperature everyday for at least six hours each day WHILE walking my feet off makes me glad that I am back in New York!**

**Anyway, it's time for the final battle. Team Valor and Team Majesta vs. Dusknoir. Twelve against one, so there's no contest, right? **

Team Valor and Team Majesta were racing through the familiar halls of the palace. Although the halls were familiar, Dusknoir had changed them. The walls were now filled with tapestries of Dusknoir and Team Demonic. Also, the castle used to be bright and full of spirit, even at night. However, now it was dark and gloomy, and it gave one a feeling of paranoia.

This gave the two teams even more motive to defeat Dusknoir, especially Infernape, Lopunny, Luxray, and Ninetales. The four of them had lived in the castle all their lives, while the others were either from the town or out of the kingdom. It hurt the four of them to see their beloved castle like this.

"What did he do?" Infernape growled. "_What did that blasted ghost do?"_

Luxray growled. "You think you're angry? Why don't you wait until I shock him? I'll make him pay!"

"Dusknoir is done. He'll pay for this!" Lopunny vowed.

"I'll fry him to a crisp!" Ninetales shouted.

The rest of their team members were rather scared of this new violent behavior from the four greatest fighters. However, they pushed this thought to the backs of their heads when they encountered the darkest and most foreboding-looking place in the castle so far. Ironically, it was the throne room.

"Abomasnow?" Drapion asked.

Abomasnow nodded. "There's no doubt. Dusknoir is behind this door. Once we enter, we will be in for the battle of our lives. Now, is everyone ready?" When everyone was silent, Abomasnow sighed. "I will accept your silence as an unanimous 'yes'."

"You got that right. Everyone, let's move!" Machamp said. He pushed the door open.

The sight that greeted them angered all twelve Pokémon to no end. Dusknoir was reclining on King Lucario and Queen Lopunny's combined thrones. The ghost regarded Team Valor and Team Majesta with arrogance and boredom. "So, you've managed to defeat my best knights and come here." he said.

Lopunny glared ferociously at him. "Dusknoir…you've taken so many lives and ruined them as if they meant nothing. You've cheated, killed, and dominated over Pokémon cruelly, sacrificing so many just for your own personal gain." She was clenching her fists now.

Infernape joined her. "Your time has come and gone. We're going to make sure that you never harm anyone again!"

Dusknoir chuckled. "How amusing. A monkey, a rabbit, a cat, a dog, two birds, a weak guy with muscles, an even weaker psychic, a scorpion, a cricket, a slow-moving guy, and a female with _roses_ for fists want to challenge_ me_? A ghost?" Then he broke out in laughter as he floated off of the throne. "And just what is your motive? Do you wish to protect those living, or avenge those who died?" He chuckled again. "The sad thing is that those four were easier to defeat than I thought. I really expected more out of them, but what do you expect from rulers of such a weak kingdom?"

"Dynamic Punch into Focus Blast!" Machamp yelled. He ran forward, charged up his four fists and his blast, and fired the devastating beam.

"Psychic!" Medicham called, joining Machamp. She used her psychic power to add a certain quality to the Focus Blast. As it was a Fighting-Type move, Focus Blast normally would not do any damage to a Ghost-Type like Dusknoir. However, since Medicham had added some psychic attribute to the attack, it would be able to do damage, however slight.

The blast struck Dusknoir, and he was pushed back a few feet. "Impressive. You were actually able to faze me, despite having an obvious type disadvantage. However, it will take much more than that to defeat me! Shadow Sneak into Shadow Punch!" The two Fighting-Types' eyes widened as Dusknoir disappeared.

Abomasnow was the one to spot him. "Guys! He's right behind you!" But it was too late. When Machamp and Medicham turned, they were met by a looming Dusknoir and a Shadow Punch to their faces. Instantly, they were flung into a wall.

"Damn you…Wood Hammer!" Abomasnow rumbled. He turned his hands into wooden hammers and charged.

"Poison Jab!" Roserade leapt over Abomasnow just as he charged and struck at Dusknoir with purple fists, followed by Abomasnow with his hammers.

However, Dusknoir wouldn't give up that easily. "Fire Punch!" he called. His fists were engulfed in flames and he counterpunched both of the attackers. Roserade gasped as she took a fistful of fire and Abomasnow took in a sharp intake of breath as his Wood Hammers were ducked under by Dusknoir and then he took a Fire Punch to the stomach. The super-effective move caused major damage, and both Grass-Types were instantly knocked out.

Dusknoir, unfortunately, did not expect to be slammed by an invisible force. That invisible force was revealed to be Staraptor and Swellow.

"Aerial Ace…works every time." Swellow said smugly.

"It will take more than that to defeat me!" Dusknoir laughed.

"Then so be it! Brave Bird!" Staraptor yelled. He was bathed in blue energy and flew forward.

"Air Slash!" Swellow added. She hurled a ball of blue energy at Dusknoir.

"Ice Punch!" Dusknoir yelled. He extended a frozen fist at Staraptor, who was unable to dodge the super-effective move and was instantly frozen for about a second before thawing out and landing in front of Dusknoir, wings folded tightly around him and shivering.

Then Dusknoir dodged the Air Slash and flew up to Swellow's level, hitting her with the second Ice Punch. She met the same fate as her lover, falling down and landing in the same position as Staraptor.

What Dusknoir didn't see coming was a giant scorpion coming at him with a combination of Poison Jab and Sludge Bomb. Actually, it was the scorpion's tail. That was why he was taken by surprise when he felt immense poisonous power push him back and shove him to a wall.

"There's a reason I'm the leader of Laxos's assassins, Dusknoir!" Drapion yelled. Dusknoir struggled, attempting to get free.

Kricketune, however, was able to get to him beforehand. "Night Slash!" Dusknoir's eyes widened as Kricketune used a super effective attack against him for a change. The previous attacks he had endured were painful, but Night Slash was at a whole different level to him.

Drapion then lifted up Dusknoir with his tail and slammed him onto the ground. As he lifted his tail up to do so again, Dusknoir whispered, "Shadow Sneak." When the tail came down, Dusknoir melted into the floor as a shadow. He then reappeared behind Kricketune.

"Look out!" Ninetales yelled. Kricketune looked and got slammed in the face by a super effective Fire Punch. The attack caused her to go down instantly.

"You're dead!" Drapion declared. He ran forward with his Poison Jab and X-Scissor claws ready.

"You just never learn." Dusknoir taunted. He met Drapion's claws with Ice Punch-powered hands. Though Drapion was indeed one of the most physically powerful members of team Valor, Dusknoir was even stronger, and he was able to increase his Ice Punches' power to the point of which it could completely cancel out the energy from Drapion's attacks and turn Drapion into an ice statue.

Dusknoir then lifted up the frozen Drapion and slammed him down onto the ground, shattering the ice and knocking Drapion out from the battle.

"Flamethrower!" Dusknoir turned to see Infernape attacking with a powerful stream of fire. Taken by surprise, he was unable to dodge and was hit by flames.

"Ice Beam!" Lopunny then added a shot of cold energy to the Infernape's Flamethrower.

"Thunderbolt!" Luxray fired a burst of electrical energy to create a makeshift Tri Attack.

"Flamethrower!" With Ninetales's intervention, the makeshift Tri Attack exploded.

The remaining four Pokémon grinned at each other. "It's over." Infernape said.

"Is that what you think?" a voice said. The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. "Never think that a battle is over unless you find a body!"

Dusknoir reappeared behind Ninetales and struck her down with a Shadow Punch, then disappeared when the other three turned. As Luxray turned, Dusknoir reappeared behind him and struck with another Shadow Punch. However, Infernape was able to spot him this time and ran forward, attempting to attack Dusknoir. Unfortunately, he got to Luxray's side a second too late as Dusknoir disappeared again.

A cry alerted him to Lopunny as Dusknoir struck her with a Fire Punch. As she went down, Infernape's eyes widened. "No! Not her!" But it was in vain as she fell with a groan and Dusknoir disappeared again.

"Impossible. How can he still be this strong after accumulating so many wounds?" he asked. Then he felt a piercing pain as Dusknoir hit him with a Shadow Punch.

Dusknoir was wounded greatly, but he was still as arrogant as before. "I admit, I am rather surprised by your power. You were actually able to wound me this much. It seems that Team Valor and Team Majesta have surpassed your teachers. However, in the end, it's not enough. Even the combined powers of all twelve of you aren't enough to defeat me."

As Infernape fell, Dusknoir grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. Infernape gasped, choking as Dusknoir strangled him. "The great leader of Team Valor, reduced to this horrible condition. How can you ever expect to marry Princess Lopunny when you are in this weak? Someone like you would never deserve to be a king!"

He flung Infernape into a wall, and as he hit the wall, a few large rocks collapsed onto Infernape, burying him from sight.

Dusknoir laughed. "And so, the leader of Team Valor has died." He turned to Lopunny and floated towards her, charging up a Fire Punch. "And so with this, the last member of the Laxos royal family is killed. How ironic that you will be killed by an attack of the very same element as your lover."

As he prepared to strike, the temperature in the room started going up. This did not go unnoticed by Dusknoir and he looked around, curious to see what was ruining his great moment of triumph.

"GET…AWAY…FROM HER!" an echoing voice commanded. Dusknoir looked at the rocks where Infernape was buried and was shocked to see a burning red aura emanating from them.

"What? How can this be?" he yelled. He got his answer as something pushed the rocks aside. That something was Infernape…in Blaze form!

"This is your end, Dusknoir!" Infernape shouted.

"Urrrgh…don't forget about me." Both fighters turned as Luxray struggled to his feet. Despite his pain, he grinned at Infernape. "I'm not going to stand by and let you take all the glory, Infernape."

"Luxray, don't. You're not strong enough." Infernape said.

"I can't believe you're still standing. I might as well take care of you first." Dusknoir said.

"You can try. I still have one more trick up my sleeve." Luxray said. Then he gathered up electrical energy and roared, "THUNDER!", firing a vicious lighting bolt up to the ceiling. The lightning bolt rebounded off the ceiling and struck Luxray.

Dusknoir laughed. "You plan to speed up your own destruction? So be-" Dusknoir stopped as a thought came to his mind. A thought that struck absolute terror in him. "Wait- no, you can't!"

Unfortunately for Dusknoir, it was too late. The electricity coated Luxray's body and solidified. Spikes formed on his mane, tail, and claws, reinforcing them. The extra electricity then dissipated, leaving behind the Electric coating, and with an echoing voice, Luxray growled viciously, "Thunder…Armor."

Infernape grinned and leapt to Luxray's side. "So be it. We fight together!" he declared.

Dusknoir roared in anger. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! I AM THE RIGHTFUL RULER OF THE KINGDOM OF LAXOS AND I WILL NOT BE STOPPED BY INSECTS LIKE YOU!"

"You're done, Dusknoir!" Infernape and Luxray said calmly.

"Flare Blitz!" Infernape yelled. His body was bathed in blue fire and he charged forward, leaving twin trails of fire in his blazing wake.

"Thunder!" Luxray commanded. He fired a ferocious burst of electricity at the Flare Blitz, charging the very air with tiny bits of electricity that stung Dusknoir. The Thunder somehow looped around the Flare Blitz and powered it up as Infernape charged.

"No!" Dusknoir yelled.

"This is our new combination!" Infernape and Luxray shouted at the same time.

"No!" Dusknoir repeated as the attack continued.

"FLAMING SPIRAL THUNDER CHARGE!" the two fighters on the side of good yelled.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dusknoir screamed as the powerful attack crashed into him with full force. The collision resulted in a huge explosion as Infernape emerged from the dust, the attack all but used up.

When the dust cleared, Infernape and Luxray were able to see the results of the attack. Nothing remained of Dusknoir but a large pile of ash.

Infernape's Blaze dissipated as he grinned with difficulty. "We…did it…Luxray." He said, panting.

Luxray's Thunder Armor dissipated as well, and he grinned back. "That's right, my friend. We...beat Dusknoir." he replied, panting as well.

For a moment, the two friends stood grinning at each other. Then, at the same time, the stress of using the combination attack as well as powering up hit both of the fighters, and they collapsed with a groan as they felt all energy drain out of them.

**Ooooh, very dramatic. However, I would say that this is one of the best chapters I have ever written in my fanfiction career, and that's saying a lot. **

**Anyway, the epilogue chapter will be posted as soon as possible, so be patient. It will be quite fluffy and a bit short. **

**Hope you enjoyed, and please review, everybody!**


	16. Epilogue

**Finally, it's time to finish this. It's been five months since I started this story, and now it's time to finish it. **

**Have fun reading this!**

"U-uuggh…" Infernape stirred as he began to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was the smiling face of Head Nurse Blissey.

"Hello, sleepyhead. Did you have a nice nap?" she asked.

"Blissey…it's you. Where am I?" Infernape asked. Then he jolted up. "Lopunny! Where's Lopunny?"

"She's perfectly fine. You, on the other hand, have been unconscious for about two days. What can you remember?" Blissey asked.

"Well, I remember fighting Dusknoir, and then getting beaten up by him, then I saw Dusknoir about to kill Lopunny. I faintly remember Luxray and I using Blaze and Thunder Armor, then I used Flare Blitz, and we killed Dusknoir." Infernape recalled.

"Good, your memory seems to be fine. You and Luxray used up a lot of energy. Unlike you, Luxray woke up a few hours ago. I think he said something about reassuring Ninetales about his condition and then making sure Princess Lopunny was all right. She got off lighter than you guys did, but when she woke up and saw your condition…" Blissey broke off.

"What? Finish the damn sentence!" Infernape demanded.

Blissey looked up and sighed. "She ran off to her room. Last time I saw her, she wouldn't respond to anything the rest of Team Valor and Team Majesta said. Luxray and Ninetales had to take on the duties of addressing the citizens' concerns until Princess Lopunny got better."

"I have to go see her!" Infernape yelled.

"Absolutely not. You are in no condition just yet. You have to rest." Blissey denied.

"Blissey, I MUST go see her." Infernape argued. Blissey opened her mouth to say no again, but when she saw Infernape's eyes, she sighed.

"…Fine. You seem to be in better condition than I thought." Blissey stepped back.

"Thank you." Infernape climbed off the bed and stood shakily. Surprisingly, he was able to walk straight, as was show when he walked out of the room.

As Infernape strode through the castle, he saw that most of the darkness caused by Dusknoir's reign had vanished. Sunlight once more streamed through the windows, and the castle had regained its sunny and bright mood. This put a smile on Infernape's face.

When he neared Lopunny's room, he overheard some voices talking. They sounded like Team Valor and Team Majesta.

"Is Lopunny still irresponsive?" Drapion's voice asked.

"Yes. She's barely touched the food that was sent to her last night." Roserade's voice responded.

"I'm worried about her." Kricketune's voice said.

"You can't really blame her. The one she loves is still unconscious. How do you think I felt when Luxray was like that?" Ninetales's voice asked.

"If only Infernape would wake up. Then Lopunny would be all better." Luxray's voice said.

"Blast it! When is Infernape going to wake up? If he doesn't show up by tonight, I'm going to have to beat him until he wakes up!" Machamp's voice said.

"What's wrong with you? He's already hurt and now you're saying that you're going to hurt him more?" Staraptor's voice said.

"He's angry, and for good reason. Infernape and Lopunny are the true leaders of this kingdom, and neither of them are available!" Medicham's voice defended.

"Luxray, Ninetales, the two of you are going to have to continues doing your temporary duties." Abomasnow's voice rumbled.

"All we can do now is hope that Infernape is going to wake up soon." Swellow's voice finished.

Infernape decided that this would be the best time to reveal himself. He stepped out around the corner, causing the rest of the Pokémon to snap their heads up. Seeing who it was put surprised looks on their faces, but Infernape quickly put a finger onto his lips, signaling for them to be quiet, which they obeyed.

The Pokémon watched as Infernape slowly walked over to Lopunny's door and opened. As Infernape stepped inside, he caught a whiff of the same scent that he had smelled the last time he entered this room- Lopunny's rose-scented perfume.

"Go away." Lopunny's muffled voice came. Infernape looked to see Lopunny lying facedown on her bed. On her nightstand, there was a bowl of an unfinished berry dish.

"You know, if you continue doing that, you're going to suffocate yourself." Infernape said calmly.

Lopunny jolted up and whirled around to see Infernape. For a moment, the two lovers stared at each other. Then Lopunny took leapt up and jumped into Infernape's arms. The sudden weight caused both of them to fall with Infernape on the bottom, but it didn't really matter as Lopunny kissed him with as much passion as she could muster. Infernape kissed back with even more passion.

When they broke away, they remained in the same position, just lying in each other's arms. "You're awake. I missed you so much! I thought…you could have died!" Lopunny cried, burying her head in Infernape's shoulder.

"I have no intention of dying now. Not when I have something to live for. I swore to protect you forever, and I won't stop. I love you, Lopunny, and I won't leave you." Infernape said.

"I know." Lopunny responded.

When Team Valor and Team Majesta looked in, they quickly brought their heads back out and left, partially to attend to certain duties, and partially to give the two lovers some privacy.

_A few months later…_

Infernape couldn't be happier. Today was the day. They were in the palace ballroom. As he stood with Luxray and the town priest, Torkoal, his eyes traveled over the audience. Part of Team Valor and Team Majesta were in the front row, also beaming. Behind them were Walrein, Manectric, Absol, and the Hitmon Brothers, and behind them was almost every Pokémon in the Kingdom of Laxos. All of them had shiny coats to look their best, for today was truly a momentous day.

Suddenly, Infernape heard the horn players begin a song-a wedding song. As they did, Lopunny walked down the aisle calmly, but with a face that showed so much happiness. Ninetales padded behind her. They joined Luxray and Infernape at the podium.

Infernape and Lopunny gazed at each other as Luxray and Ninetales retreated a bit. "You look beautiful." Infernape said. Lopunny's smile grew wider and they gestured for Torkoal to begin.

Torkoal nodded. "We come today to witness the marriage of Her Majesty Lopunny and Lord Infernape. Please state your vows."

Lopunny looked at Infernape and began. "Infernape, when I met as children, I admit, I didn't know what to think of you. You were just an average Pokémon. Then I saw you quickly gather friends like it was nothing. I took years to gather up my friends. Then, you and Team Valor fought alongside me and Team Majesta against Armaldo with all your might, and you even saved me from that Ancientpower. And just a few months ago, you saved Team Majesta, beat Dusknoir, and saved the kingdom. How could I not fall in love with you after all you did for me and for Laxos? Infernape…I promise to love and cherish you, through life and through death, through sickness and through health, and through peace and misfortune."

Infernape began his speech. "Lopunny, ever since we were children I have admired you from a distance. I never thought that you and I could be together like this. I was a mere son of a palace guard, and you were a princess. How could I ever hope to be with you? However, that never stopped me from falling in love with you. I loved your spirit, your kindness, and plus, I thought you were beautiful. I swore to protect you and I felt jubilant when you asked me to marry you. I shared your pain when your parents died, and I felt my heart crying out every time you were in danger. My dear princess Lopunny, I promise to love and protect you, through life and through death, through sickness and through health, and through peace and misfortune."

There was not one Pokémon in the room who was not crying. It was just so beautifully touching.

"If there are any Pokémon who objects to this marriage, please speak now or forever hold your peace." Torkoal said. No one answered.

"Lord Infernape, do you promise to love and cherish Her Majesty Lopunny? Do you swear on your life to eternally love her, and treat her with the highest respect?" Torkoal asked.

"I do." Infernape stated.

"Your Majesty Lopunny, do you promise to love and cherish Lord Infernape? Do you swear on your life to eternally love him, and treat him with the highest respect?" Torkoal asked.

"I do." Lopunny stated.

"Then with the power I have vested in me as the Laxos Priest, I now pronounce this couple husband and wife. Lord Infernape; I dub thee the King of Laxos, and Princess Lopunny; I dub thee the Queen of Laxos. Let this royal couple be seen to all! You may now kiss the bride!" Torkoal declared.

The royal couple couldn't be happier as they kissed each other with all their might. When they broke apart, they ran down the aisle, happy to be finally wed at last.

Life went on in the Kingdom of Laxos, and life was good. The couples of Team Valor and Team Majesta were all married within the course of two years. Manectric and Absol were also married, and Walrein settled down with a beautiful female Pokémon called Lapras that he had met on his travels.

It wasn't long until Infernape and Lopunny produced the heir to the kingdom. It was a young male Chimchar, with just as much spirit as his father. A cute female Buneary followed, and just like his father, Prince Chimchar always looked after his younger sister.

Luxray and Ninetales had a male Shinx. He and Prince Chimchar worked together to protect Princess Buneary.

Staraptor and Swellow also had two children- a male Tailow with his father's strength and a female Starly with her mother's kindness. They both loved to fly around the secret field, as long as their parents were around.

Machamp and Medicham produced a female Meditite. Her power allowed her to fight at an early age. However, there was another to calm her down when her temper went off.

Drapion and Kricketune had produced a male Kricketot. His voice was as calming as his mother's and he was usually the one to calm Meditite down. However, he had also inherited a bit of his father's mischievous personality, and would get into trouble for pulling a prank every now and then.

Abomasnow and Roserade had a male Snover. Like his mother, he was kind, and like his father, he had excellent observation talents.

When these children were born, Team Valor and Team Majesta knew in their hearts that they would be united, always a team. Even when they were long gone from this world, their spirit would live on in the lives of their descendents. But for now, King Infernape and Queen Lopunny, Master Luxray and Mistress Ninetales, Sir Staraptor and Lady Swellow, High Commander Machamp and Madame Medicham, Top Assassin Drapion and Expert Striker Kricketune, and Tactician Abomasnow and Captain Roserade had duties to attend to.

However, life was never again as hard as the journey that all of them took. And when the tale of this journey was passed down over the generations, no matter who told it, it was always labeled the same name: A Journey of Majestic Valor.

**That was a bit fluffy and quite the normal ending. However, I hope you enjoyed this. If you like my work, go read some of my other stories. In fact, **_**The Ability of a Master **_**is long overdue for an update. If you like my stories, check it out!**

**Please review!**


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